The Choosing
by laura-maeve
Summary: OOC Jake/Ness. In a world where Jacob Black is a very different kind of werewolf, he's pushed into taking a human mate. Enter dominant Ren. Forced by her parents to be a "willing" candidate with the town's single females, she's nothing if not terrified when he chooses her to leave her home to live with him. Both are willing for their own reasons but can they learn to fall in love?
1. Chapter 1

***Rubs hands togeth**

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**er* Alright. I'm trying something new in the Ness/Jake world. Definitely OOC. Don't worry! I'm still going to update my other stories! I just wanted to put this up to see how well it would fare. So anybody familiar with my previous work should be warned that this is totally different than what we're used to seeing from our favorite couple. I'm just really happy with how this turned out, and my helper was pleased with it as well so I decided to put it up and test the waters. I figured that some of my readers might need a different view of Ness and Jake. I'm hoping that you'll like it, so I really do need reviews to know if I should continue! Oh, and not as much Jake POV in this story. Sorry, that's just how it's coming to me. Ness is a really strong presence in this one.**

***Disclaimer***

**RPOV:**

The bell above the door jingled, alerting Renesmee Cullen from the back that someone had come into the store. It wasn't an automatic bell. Nope, the pack leader, upon moving into town had banned them because sometimes their pitches were too high and hurt the pack's sensitive hearing. She'd only seen the alpha male a couple times but had never interacted with him. A fact for which she was grateful. He was terrifying.

"Hello?"

"Sorry! I'll be there in a sec!"

Renesmee and her mother had opened a bookstore together. The library had long gone out of business and once the pack leader had moved in there was no coming and going as one pleased to Port Angeles to buy books. He'd gated off the whole town of Forks and the Quileute reservation quite literally. Tall walls lined the perimeter. And there was only one entrance and exit. The front gates. Supposedly, they were warded and nothing could get through them without some serious mystical help. So, her mother had petitioned the pack leader, the pack's king, to open a bookstore. Reading was important after all. He'd allowed it, but only allowing them to take from manufacturers he approved of. At least he wasn't a Nazi over what books they could sell.

At the moment, Ren was straightening up the overstock room, trying to make it more accessible. Climbing down from the ladder, she brushed her dusty hands on her jeans as she went out into the main room. A girl around her age was standing at the counter. Ren frowned. She'd never seen this girl before, which living in walled off _small _town was an improbability. Therefore, she was new around here.

"Hi," Ren said. "Can I help you with something?"

The girl sagged in relief. "Thank God. You seem nicer than the last guy I tried to ask for help."

She laughed a little. "Well I hope I am. I'm Renesmee. Most people call me Ren. What can I do for you?"

She smiled gratefully. "I'm Mindy. And I am looking for Jacob Black."

Ren raised her eyebrows. "You mean the pack leader?"

She nodded, the red streaks in her hair sliding in and out of sight. "I'm, uh, joining his pack. A transfer."

So she was a wolf, too. Instantly, Ren was spooked but she tried not to show it. "Uh, yeah. The pack is actually settled between here and the rez. Let me try to write the directions. I've never been there so I can't explain from experience."

Mindy nodded. "I understand. And you don't have to be scared of me. I'd never hurt anybody. That's how I was raised."

Ren looked up from the paper she'd pulled in front of her. "You were born a…?"

The girl nodded again. "Yeah. My parents raised me to be respectful of human life. After all, according to some legends, we originated from humans. The very first werewolves were cursed humans forced to live as the monsters they were acting like."

Feeling nauseated, Ren finished the instructions and handed them to the girl. "Well, that's what I know. There is a small store at the edge of town closer to the pack. If you get lost, stop in and ask them. They would probably know."

The girl looked down at the paper and smiled. "Thank you again. And I'm sorry if I frightened you."

She seemed genuinely nice enough. There were a few wolves from the pack who were friendly when they came in, but they still made Ren nervous. She smiled, though. "Maybe I'll see you around. If you like to read, we're the only bookstore around."

"I do like to read, so I will more than likely be back." She waved as she left the store.

Ren relaxed on the stool she'd collapsed on. Even though she'd lived around wolves all her life, they still made her uneasy. Especially the highly aggressive dominant wolves. They didn't seem to care if a woman said no. They took what they wanted, when they wanted. On that front, Jacob Black had made it an order to his wolves not to take unwilling partners. It was a law for them punishable by death at his or his enforcers' hands. The execution would be public so that the human residents had confirmation the menace was put down. She would know. She'd seen a handful of them herself over the past year or so that the pack had been here.

Another reason she was nervous around them? She could _see_ them, as in tell them apart from humans even when they were trying to pass for human. It was like a flickering candle lit up in their skin, and she could see the wolf form silhouetted inside their human form. It was eerie as all get out. But it only worked on infected wolves. Not born wolves like Mindy, which was why she couldn't tell what she was.

Sighing, Ren put her head in her hands. At least Mindy was pleasant. It might be nice seeing her in the bookstore. Ren didn't have any friends. She was too busy helping her mom with the store. Besides, practically everyone came here so she still got to interact. What would it be like to have an actual friend? Weird, she decided. Very weird.

**JPOV**

Sitting on the throne in the huge cabin created just for special events and meetings, Jacob Black grinded his teeth. Surprisingly, they didn't turn to dust in his mouth. He was irritated that he had to be here at all, but the alpha female, Odette, had called the meeting. She was a vicious bitch trying to force him into finding a mate. She wanted to be his wolf mate, had fought and fucked her way to the top of the females, and had expected to be taken as his queen. He loathed the female though he respected her ferocity in challenges. He recognized the same ruthlessness in himself. Hence the reason he was king. However, mating her was off the table. He'd never mate with a female wolf. It was not a chance he wanted to take. He'd killed a lot of people, wolves, but the prospect of killing his own young was not one he wanted put in front of him. Instead, to slake his lust, he often took willing human females from one of the two towns at times that they weren't fertile. Young from any female wasn't something he needed right now. Not with Odette blowing smoke up his ass.

"Odette, give it up," Adair, Jacob's second in command, was saying. "This is a dead horse. Jacob will take a mate when he takes a mate. And you know it will be a human. So whether he decides to mate now, it will not be with you, so why are you bringing this up yet again?"

The small French woman faced him. "He could always take a female wolf. It's not unheard of. Besides, he's been our king for well over ten years. He's not getting any younger."

Jacob's hackles raised, but he let them duke it out. His second in command could handle himself and had always had Jacob's back since he took the throne.

Adair crossed his arms over his massive chest. "And just why would you care if he has any young? You can't bear them for him unless you want to be the one to kill them."

She flinched, pain making her hunch into herself. It had been a low blow, but Adair didn't stand down. He was simply reminding her what would happen if Jacob did mate her and she were to birth a young. Children born to male and female wolf couples were close to sociopaths, functioning solely on instinct. They were born in animal form and stayed that way for years. If they could manage to shift to human form, they would only _look _human. Those young couldn't or wouldn't take orders. Even ordered not to kill under penalty of death, they'd still go through their urges, seeing the humans as food even in their human forms. None of those young were still alive. They'd all been killed by their own parents. Which explained Odette's pain. All anyone knew was she'd had to put down her own son after getting pregnant by her wolf mate. Only the most ruthless and heartless wolves took wolf mates. Even though wolves could sense fertility in other animals, sometimes fate just happened and a young came along. Jacob wasn't so ruthless to be able to kill a child, his own or otherwise.

After a couple moments, Odette pulled herself together. Lifting her chin, she looked out at the crowd of a hundred or so wolves. "It's true that as alpha female, I naturally want the strongest mate, our king. What female wouldn't? But it's not just about that. Our king has been good to us since he became our king. Shouldn't we want to see him mated? See him have his young?"

Jacob's eyes narrowed. It wasn't like the female to be generous. She made no bones that she wanted to bed her king, so why was she pushing for that king to be mated when she knew it wouldn't be her?

Unfortunately, there were murmurs of agreement among the pack. A lot of agreement. Adair looked back at Jacob with raised eyebrows. Though Jacob was king and the pack wasn't a democracy, what his people thought and their views affected his decisions. He wanted what was best for them and constantly listened to their opinions and suggestions. He could tell that if they did put it to a vote for consideration, over half would agree with Odette that it was time for him to take a mate.

"Not only that," Odette continued, "but mating a female from this territory would strengthen the ties, make this more our home. Sure, there are a number of us who have taken life mates from here, but our king taking one would unify us even more. We've been here for well over a year, nearly two. And he wants to settle us here. We all seem to be okay, even happy, with that. If we're to stay here, we need to create ties. The pack has. Now, our king should."

Now a louder agreement rose up.

Adair stalked up the two steps of the dais to bend down next Jacob's ear. "I can't argue with the second part of her logic, my liege. She has a point."

"You haven't taken a mate," Jacob whispered back.

Adair gave a wry half smile. "This argument is about the king. The king, I am not. Merely the second in command. But should you order me to take a mate, of course, I will."

Jacob looked up at him with respect. Adair had been with him every second of the way since he'd joined the first pack, training him in the ways of the wolf. There had come a time when Jacob had saved Adair's life. When the other wolf had healed from his wounds, he'd vowed to follow Jacob wherever he went. And so he had. They'd jumped from pack to pack, finally landing in this one. They'd both fought their way to the top, Jacob taking on the previous pack leader and Adair taking the previous second in command, ensuring that Jacob would never be challenged again. Adair also played an enforcer when needed, but he didn't play leader. That was Zeke, who was currently standing back and to the right of the throne. The other enforcers were spread out among the pack.

Sitting back, he forced his expression blank. "Take one or don't. It makes no nevermind to me."

Adair lost his amused expression and bowed his head deference before stepping off the dais. Though he was the closest thing Jacob had to a friend, it didn't help him to show favoritism. Or to get close to anyone. The last time he did, it broke a part of him. He needed to protect what was left, otherwise he'd become the thing he'd killed to become king.

Standing up, he moved forward. "Silence," he called to the mingling pack. When they were calm, he looked out over the crowd. "It seems as though your alpha female has made valid points, one more so than the other. I have been your king for a decade and feel that I have ruled over you fair and just. You deserve to be given the safety you crave. Adair, send word out that tomorrow evening, the females of both the reservation and Forks should gather. I'll be choosing a mate tomorrow night."

As the pack cheered his decision, Jacob sat heavily on his throne once more thinking that maybe, just maybe, the weight of his crown would eventually crush what was left of his humanity.

**RPOV:**

"I just don't understand why I should have to look nice. If he picks me, it's against my will."

"Hush, Renesmee," she admonished as she finished tightening up the fastenings on her dress. Not quite a corset, but close. It had been special ordered by her aunt months ago, but she doubted she thought that this would be the occasion her dear niece would be wearing it for. "It would be a respectable position," she continued. "Do you know how many women want it? If you were picked, your father and I would never have to worry about you. If he picks you, then you will be willing. Do you understand? I'll not have my own daughter be the reason the pack punishes the entire town. We have a responsibility to them for their protection. You should be grateful."

Renesmee scoffed. "They're brutes, Mom. Even the females. I mean, have you _seen _the shape our men come back in after a night with them?"

Her mother turned her around to face her and started pulling her hair down and around her shoulders. "I've never heard one complain," she said with meaning.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's because they were probably threatened."

"I said, hush." Her mother's tone was crisp and sharp, indicating she was starting to get truly annoyed with her daughter. "So far, he and his pack have done nothing but protect us. What do you think the wall is for?"

There was a knock on the door. Dad. "It's time. All the others are gathering on the road. We're the last group to be looked over."

_Like cattle_, she thought to herself. _Or slaves._

Her mother kissed her cheek. "It'll be fine, dear."

Ren walked away from her, not returning the sentiment. She stopped at her father's side in the doorway. "How can you be okay with this?"

His eyes turned regretful. He placed his hand on her cheek. "Ren, sweetie, it's not that I enjoy this. It's the price we have to pay for their protection. You know that. This is the only time the pack leader is choosing a mate. There's every chance it won't be you. This is a one-time thing unless the female dies."

With that pleasant thought, she roughly pulled away from her father and stomped down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she found that some of her bags had already been packed, just in case she was picked. A bad feeling clenched her stomach as she slid into her shoes. It didn't bode well. Whenever she'd gotten these feelings, they'd always turned out how she imagined them. Grinding her teeth, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and wrenched open the door. Luckily it wasn't raining, but it was a cool night. So cool that the breeze raised bumps on her skin. The skirts of her white dress fluttered around her legs as she went to join the line of other girls ranging in ages from mid-teens to late thirties. All willing females.

_Yeah right_. A lot of the young ones looked terrified. Of course they were. They'd probably been shoved into their dresses and forced out here just like she'd been. Probably had the same speech as well. None of these girls or women were attached. All were single, or at least not married.

The girl next to Ren was shaking uncontrollably, and something told her it wasn't the weather. Her name was Mary and lived not too far from here. Ren had seen her in the bookstore a lot. She was shy and quiet but always knew what she was looking for. Reaching over, Ren gripped the poor girl's hand, giving it a squeeze and what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

With the next breeze came whispers that the wolves were on their way. Girls lined both sides of the road, waiting. Mary gripped Ren's hand as if it were the only solid thing she had to grab in the ocean. Ren went up on her toes to try to see down the road. Something moved in the growing shadows. The alpha and his pack? Of course it was. A shudder and silence descended on the group as the tall, darkly handsome pack leader strode forward. He stopped at the beginning of the group, inspecting them all as one entity before narrowing his eyes. Honestly, he'd probably want a less dominant mate, one more easily controlled. He was a king, an alpha male. What male didn't want a submissive woman? Therefore, she made sure to keep her chin up, eyes away from the ground. As he came forward, she studied him. Again, he was handsome, looking no older than her own twenty years. But of course he was older. He'd been this pack's king for ten years, if the rumors were true. And he carried himself as an older, more experienced man might. A man who'd been through some shit only to come out the other side different, changed. Besides, he'd been infected as a teenager, so he had to be in his thirties, she guessed. After being infected, he would have had to have training, how to control the beast. Add a few more years of work experience to the resume and then the decade of kingship. Yep, thirties. Definitely.

He stopped at every female, closely inspecting her, but never touching. None of them would meet his eyes. At least he'd have his pick of females. And eventually, it was Ren's turn. She knew she was tall for a woman, five foot seven or so, but this mountain of a man towered over her. In his shadow, the air became cooler, making her shiver even more. Clenching her jaw, she held those shivers back by force of will and met his eyes defiantly. She wasn't weak. Never had been. Being a man's, human or otherwise, submissive toy was not on her to-do list. Under her glare, he cocked an eyebrow over his impossibly dark eyes that still managed to be brown instead of black. The most emotion she'd seen from him this whole time.

And then he couldn't seem to help his eyes skimming her body down to her feet and slowly back up before one more moment of eye contact. And then he was gone, quickly surveying the rest. Ren let out her breath and relaxed. Mary gave her hand a squeeze and a small smile. Looking back over her shoulder, she could see her parents waiting at the edge of the trees. Her father was frowning, clearly not happy that a man his age was checking out his daughter. Her mother just nodded once. Figured.

Still looking back, she saw the shadow cover her once more. Mary squeezed her hand urgently. Swallowing hard, Ren turned around to find the king standing before her once more. Her heart decided to take residence in her throat.

"How old are you?" he asked in a deep bass that rumbled in his chest.

Gulping, she answered, "Twenty."

He gave her another once over that she would swear she could feel like a finger being traced over her skin. A scorching finger. "And you're willing?"

She debated her answer, but in the end, she thought of her mother. And how right she was. Most of these other girls were terrified. Others were just horny and looking for a good piece of meat. This man _was _protecting them. What the hell had she been thinking, looking him in the eyes? Now it dawned on her that as king he'd want a strong mate for his mate. Someone who could handle the rowdiness of the pack. Dammit. She'd practically raised her hand, waved it, and said, "Pick me, pick me!"

But the man was waiting for an answer, so she took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm standing here, aren't I?"

He quirked that eyebrow again as the guy behind him choked on a laugh before hiding his grin.

She cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, I guess I am."

He gave one nod. "You, then."

Knees going weak, she forced herself to stand straight. No damn weakness. She couldn't let a poor girl like Mary end up with him. "I, uh, I need to get my bags."

"Adair will get them. You'll come with me." Then he turned back toward the road and walked off.

Immediately, the man who'd been laughing ran off behind her. Ren just stood there, looking around, things happening too fast for her to contemplate. The other women were moving away, either staying to talk about what just happened or going home disappointed.

"Now, female!" he barked.

She jumped before squeezing Mary's hand one last time. As she hurried down the street, she looked back at her parents. Her mother looked relieved, her father concerned. But he nodded to her as if proud, as if he'd known she'd accepted the position to protect the other girls. She'd always gotten along better with her father for precisely that reason. He knew her better than her mother ever would.

She hurried off until they were out of view and she caught up to his long-legged stride. "I have a name, you know."

He glanced over, seemingly uninterested.

"Renesmee, for future reference," she kept on. "Or Ren. Most people call me Ren."

He slowed down once they reached two massive males who looked positively terrifying. They each turned and followed as she and Jacob passed them. She couldn't help but keep an eye over her shoulder for the menace pouring from them. Now she let some of those shivers free, raising more goosebumps up and down her arms and legs.

Absently, he looked over at her. "You're cold."

Perfect. She could use that instead of letting him know that Thing One and Thing Two terrified her. It also helped that it was true. Lying to a werewolf was a bad idea. "Ya think? It's freezing out here and I'm not one of you. I don't have my own space-heater. Besides, there aren't any clouds out tonight to keep the warmth in."

Awkwardly, he wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulders. Where his skin touched her neck, it burned. But in a good way, like hot water in the shower. Her skin tightened with the feeling. And surprisingly, the warmth spread to cover her entire body.

"Thanks," she said.

He just grunted.

Since it didn't seem like he was going to say anything else, she asked, "So, how does this work exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do we go to Pack HQ, have a small ceremony, and then I get to go back home until it's time to…you know 'mate'?" This was best case scenario. She was praying for best case scenario. Because that would give her some time to get used to the idea that she was going to have to sleep with a guy who was her father's age. Blech.

Frowning, he shook his head. "No. Well, we do go back to the camp and have a ceremony. But it won't be for a couple days so you can adjust. But you don't go home, Renesmee. I picked you. You're mine. Therefore, you stay with me."

Her heart was back in her throat as panic started to choke off her air. Being impressed with the fact that he'd remembered her name after hearing it only once wasn't enough to calm it. "You mean _live with you_? And the pack?"

He nodded gruffly. "And we're to 'mate' after the ceremony. The union has to be cemented."

Well there went her plan of getting used to the idea. In only a couple days, she was going to lose her virginity to this man, this…brute. That's what she had to remember. He was the king. The most aggressive and violent of the entire pack. Would he be gentle with her? What if he didn't care that she was untouched? He was huge, which meant that there was no way Mother Nature had been so cruel as to not endow him to match his frame.

As Jacob led her toward the camp, the other male, Adair, came running up to them, her bags in his hands. Shrugging out from the arm that had become uncomfortably warm and tight, she went for the bag that had her jacket in it. Pulling it out with relief, she tugged it on, reveling in the familiar scent of mint and honey, the scent of her shampoo. Jacob and Adair spoke in low tones, leaving her lost in her thoughts. For the rest of the walk, all she could think about was what was going to happen to her in a couple days. She'd never even been kissed before, let alone all Jacob had implied was going to happen.

Off the main road was a dirt path. It was partially concealed. The wolves liked their privacy. Nobody went onto their land without being invited unless it was the police like Ren's maternal grandfather, Charlie, who was Chief of Police in Forks. The dirt path had two ruts in it from vehicles going back and forth. It was slick and muddy from the earlier rain. Every time she slid in her flimsy shoes, one of the large men behind her would steady her. In the dark with no streetlights, these woods were creepy, and she could swear that she felt eyes on her, even saw them in the dark shadows before disappearing. She moved closer to Jacob. Eventually, they made it to a large fence with a wide gate. Jacob pulled her close to him again.

"Hey, just because I volunteered for this doesn't mean you get to manhandle me. Get off." She pushed at him but he just tightened his grip around her waist.

Growling, he pulled her tight to the side of his body and leaned down to her ear. "I am your king now and this is your home now. Period. But that doesn't mean there won't be aggressive wolves waiting to see what sort of fresh meat I've brought back. Stay close to me and you just might make it to my cabin."

Eyes thrown wide, she jerked back to stare up at him. His eyes were utterly serious. "You can't protect me?"

At that, his growl grew. "Of course I can. But if you don't stay close to me, we could get separated. If that happens, I might get to you too late."

Dammit. She knew she should have found a way to attach her silver-bladed dagger to her body somewhere. Her uncle had given it to her as a birthday present. Silver was expensive, and made into a blade? A small fortune.

Jacob's fingers dug into her hip. "Do you understand?"

Shaking again, she nodded. "Yeah. Roger that."

Adair opened the gate and in they went. Ren gripped Jacob's shirt, making sure her body moved with his. As soon as they were through the thick trees, she gasped at the huge clearing with several cabins. Groups of wolves walked and talked, gathering around fires outside of some of the cabins. In the center of everything, a bonfire burned like a giant monster rising from the wood and brush keeping it going. At their entrance, the groups went quiet, watching them with stony expressions. She gasped as her "gift" got its groove on. With her eyes scanning the wolves, several lit up here and there, showing that eerie glow and silhouette dance of human flesh and wolf within. She gripped his shirt tighter but still met their eyes. She was scared but not weak. One of the females snarled, lips curling over her sharpening teeth. Ren was positive she'd seen her before in the store. Her name was Odette. And with her breaking the eerie silence, other wolves started to move toward them, trying to get a good look at Ren. As they moved closer and closer, Jacob moved faster, practically dragging her along the dirt path. The big guys behind them were ordering the other wolves back and not to touch her.

Without incident, they finally made it to what was easily the largest cabin other than one that seemed to be a gathering hall. Jacob unlocked and opened the door, ushering her inside before taking her bags from Adair. Once the door was closed and locked, she breathed easier and was able to look around at her surroundings. The living room, one huge room that had the kitchen in the corner separated by a bar and bamboo sheet curtain, was utterly cold. Sparsely furnished. And what was there was all in cold colors. A couch and plush chair sat in front of the massive fireplace, which was cold at the moment. Wrapping her arms around herself, all she could think about was how different this was than her own home.

But wait. This _was _her home now.

Spinning around, she faced Jacob, who was leaning against the door, silently watching her. "Earlier you said that I couldn't go back home. Does that mean I can't even visit my parents? I mean, I still have to get the rest of my stuff. And what about the bookstore? My mother can't run that by herself. She doesn't understand how I've set it up or anything."

Those dark eyes narrowed. "The pack can get your stuff. As for visiting your parents, of course, I'll allow that. But not often and not immediately. I don't want you to think you can slowly move out and spend all your time there. You belong here now. And the store? Your father can help your mother. No mate of mine will ever have to work. We have the funds for you to buy whatever you wish, no working necessary."

"But-,"

"No 'buts', female."

Indignant, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You really think you can just start controlling my life and I'll go with that? I am not a door mat. I won't let you walk all over me."

Before she could even blink, he was on her, gripping her hips. Turning them around, he forced her against the wall. Bending down, he put his nose to the side of her neck and inhaled deeply. "I can smell your fear, female. You may have been willing, but you know what we are, how dangerous we are. You would be wise to remind yourself of who and what I am. I am the king of this territory and you are now my mate." He moved so that his lips hovered just over hers. "So, yes, I control your life. Do you understand?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded but said, "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

As fast as he was on her, he moved off her, picking up her bags. Breathing ragged, she watched as he went for the stairs across the way. "I would imagine you don't, a strong female like you. But whether you like it or not, you will do as I say because I doubt you'll like the consequences far less than obeying in the first place." He got to the middle of the staircase before turning to her. "Well, do you want to see where you'll be sleeping? I can sense your exhaustion."

Irritated, she followed him. As she followed him up the stairs, she had to admit that he did have a nice ass, even through his baggy jeans. To the right of the top of the stairs was an overhanging balcony that looked out over the living room, kitchen and dining area in the far corner. It was a huge space, but there were no cobwebs or dust that she could detect up in the darkness of the ceiling. The stairs opened up to a large hallway with doors on both sides. Just how many rooms did this building have? It was more like a hotel than a house.

She followed Jacob's broad shoulders down to the last room on the right. He led her through the largest door, one fit for a king. Shocking. It was actually double doors, intricately carved, heavy wooden doors. Shouldering on open, he stood to the side, letting her go inside in front of him.

_Holy crap_, she thought. Like the living room, it was sparsely decorated, typical bachelor pad. But what had her gaping was the huge bed against the left-hand wall. Way bigger than king size. Now she understood the term orgy-sized. The walls were painted a deep, dove grey. The sheets and blankets on the bed were black. Of course they were. The carpet under her feet was plush and a few shades darker than the walls. Two doors also framed the bed. One she assumed was a closet, the other a bathroom. Two huge armoires stood against the wall across from the bed, framing another door. There was no TV or other means of entertainment in the bedroom. He meant it for sleeping…or other activities.

Moving past her, he went to drop her bags in front of one of the armoires. He opened the doors to show that it was empty. The mirrors in the doors threw her startled reflection back at her. She was pale against the white dress, her copper hair the only splash of color against her skin. Even her freckles had paled. Lips and eyes were dull. She probably needed some food, but right now, she just couldn't muster up the energy to be hungry.

"This one is yours," he said. "There's also room in the closet for when your stuff arrives."

"I don't get my own room?"

Silently, he shook his head.

"So, does that mean that we have to…share a bed?"

Longer than she wanted, he stared at her, studying her face before roaming her body again. Then he jerked his head toward the mystery door. "Look in there." It wasn't a request.

So she did as she was told. It was a small order, nothing life threatening. It ended up that there was an entertainment room on the other side. Directly across the way was another plush couch, bigger than the one in the living room. In front of that was the fireplace. Above the mantle was a massive flat screen television. On the mantle was the cable box and dvd player. On the left-hand wall were two floor to ceiling bookshelves that were lined with movies and games. Looking back into the bedroom she found that yes, she'd looked over the massive picture window that was covered by thick black drapes. Apparently, the man was allergic to color. Well, since he was adamant about her living here, Ren would just have to fix that, because she was certainly _not _allergic to color.

"You said unlimited funds, right?" she asked over her shoulder.

He nodded.

She smiled brightly. "Good."

Those dark eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Waving it away, she went back to join him in the bedroom. "So why did you make me look in there after asking if we were sharing a bed?"

"Because even though you're willing, I suspect that this is all overwhelming. I wanted you to know that you have a place to escape. If the doors are closed while you're in there, I will know to give you your space. It's a big adjustment."

_Gee, ya think? _she thought. But then she noticed he hadn't said anything about sleeping separately. "Wait a minute, we still have to sleep in the bed?"

His expression tightened, going rigid. "Yes," he bit out. "Couches are not for sleeping on, especially that one. You will sleep in the bed with me, as is custom."

"Okay. Well then I guess my next question would be is it custom to…you know, before the ceremony?"

Between one second and the next, the rigidity was gone. He was once again stoic as he went to the bed and sat down, pulling off his boots. "You know, for a dominant female you sure have an aversion to the words 'sex' and 'fucking'."

Her body tensed, both wanting his answer to her question and not. But she crossed her arms under her breasts and glared at him. As a virgin with no friends, she had no reason to use that kind of language with her parents. Apparently, that wasn't the case with this man. "Fine," she snapped. "Is it custom to _fuck_ before the ceremony?"

His hand stopped unlacing his other boot as he looked up at her from under surprised eyebrows. Using the pad of his other foot against the heel, he kicked off the other boot while never taking his eyes off her. "No," he said, finally. "I am not to take that liberty beforehand."

"Liberty?" she demanded, unable to believe she was hearing this.

He gave her a look. "Yes, liberty. I picked you as my _mate_, which means _mating _will be involved." Standing up he came to tower over her. "Don't forget that I am the king. I can take what I want. Once the ceremony is complete, you will be mine to do with as I see fit. And the pack will need evidence that the union has been consummated."

Horror washed over her as an image of members of the pack standing in this room watching him do with her as he saw fit flashed in her mind. Bile rose up in her throat, threatening to burn her. "E-evidence?" she choked out.

He motioned behind him. "The sheet. It will have our scents and mixed fluids. The elder females will take it to be put with other…collectables…attesting to my reign as king for the records. And you as my mate."

"Collectables?" she demanded. Now that pissed her off. Her virginity wasn't something to be locked away to be studied and stared at. It actually meant something to her. "Really? Is that all this is to you? To add trophies to your chapter in the history books? This is _my life_ you're messing with, you-,"

In the blink of an eye, he was on her once more, forcing her against the wall. His big hands came up to either side of her face as he leaned his massive frame into her. With a low growl, he said, "Don't ever presume to tell me about my own motives. You know nothing about pack ways. _Trophies _are not my interest. I didn't _want _a mate, so don't flatter yourself that you're here because of some instant connection or your bravery. You're here because you were the strongest female out there. Don't think that you are in any way important to me. After the ceremony, we _will _fuck so don't think you can smartass yourself out of that one. It has to be done. I won't dishonor my pack by skirting around your delicate sensibilities." After a long moment of staring her down, his eyes went to her breasts and the ample cleavage showing above her dress. "Although I can at least say the act won't be as distasteful as it could have been with some of the other females. At least I know I'll enjoy it. But don't worry," he said, catching her look of fear, "I promise to make sure you're ready for me." He dropped his hands to her shoulders. "Now turn around."

"Why?" she asked in a breathy voice. She was forced to turn with his steel-like grip on her shoulders forced her to move.

"Like I said earlier, I can sense your exhaustion. You need sleep." It was a moment before she felt his fingers start to untie the lacings of her tight dress.

Gasping, she clutched her hands to her chest as the dress loosened. "What are you doing?"

He growled. "Do you want to sleep in the dress?"

"No, but I can take it off myself, thanks." _Asshole._

"Just shut up and let go of it."

"But you said-,"

His fist slammed into the wall next to her face. "I'm aware of what I said," he said with a snarl. "And though I can't have you yet, I am allowed to look at what's to be mine. Drop your hands and the dress. Now!"

Though she wanted nothing more than to cower with fear, she swallowed it down. Clenching her jaw, she moved her hands to her sides. Jacob brushed the straps of the dress over her shoulders so it dropped around her to pool at her feet. She was in a simple white bra with half cups to accommodate the dress and white lace panties. Instead of hunching in on herself, she stood straight, square shoulders, and stared at the wall.

This time when he growled, it was low and warm, as if he couldn't help the sound coming out of him. He picked up the heavy weight of her long hair to rest it over her shoulder. A moment later, she felt his hot fingers skim down her back over the line of her spine, right down to the waist of her panties. Never had any boy or man ever touched her like this. The most was a shake of the hand and kiss on the cheek. Jacob was a lot of man, even without the wolf. He was an aggressive male, nothing passive about him. He could indeed take what he wanted, even if he was human. Every woman would gladly strip for him to touch them this way. Ren was the lucky lotto winner this time. However, she didn't know if she wanted her prize. She hadn't been lying when she'd thought that he was terrifying. With surprisingly gentle hands, he gripped her shoulders and turned her around. Luckily her hair was fanned out across her chest covering her barely covered breasts. Daring a look up at him, she found that his eyes had darkened to black, amber starting to leak over as he studied her. It was his turn to swallow hard. Unfortunately, standing there in nothing but her underwear, it was easy to feel small under that gaze.

He swallowed again before rubbing his fingers over his mouth. And then he turned, hurrying for the bathroom around the other side of the bed. The door closed firmly behind him. She breathed out a sigh of relief and let the tension go from her body. Wanting to not be so revealing, she shut off the lights, welcoming the darkness to wrap around her. Now that he wasn't all up in her space, she was freezing. So, she pulled the black comforter down from the pillows and climbed into the cool sheets, yanking the blankets to her shoulders. On her side, she rested so that she faced the bedroom door, her back to the bathroom where he would come out.

While he was out of the room, she pressed her face into the plush pillow and allowed herself a few silent tears. She kept reminding herself that she was doing her duty. Not for the reasons her mother made up, but for those girls. The girls like Mary. Ren was a dominant person, she knew that. She didn't take crap from people. Her Uncle Jasper had been in the military and had seen to it that she could take care of herself. Although her training hadn't really been for defending against werewolves, but at least she knew the basics and could work from there if she needed. But it wasn't as if other women couldn't handle the position. So why did she feel like she needed to do it? Because he'd picked her? If she hadn't been forced out on that road, he would have picked the next dominant female that he was attracted to. Probably someone much closer to his age. But again, why didn't he skip her and go to the next woman? Well, that was obvious. He was very attracted to her. It was a little creepy because he was so much older, but at the same time, Ren couldn't deny that she was attracted to him. He was everything a woman could want. Strong, sexily dominant. It also helped that he was a looker. Built like a mountain. Tall with broad shoulders. Naturally tanned skin since he was from the rez. Pitch black hair and dark brown eyes. Muscles in all the right places. Jacob Black was every woman's wet dream. Until he became scary.

Behind her, the bathroom door opened. Trying to be nonchalant, she wiped the tears from her face as the bed dipped on his side. Of course, the bed was big enough, and she was on the edge on her side, that it barely jostled her. She frowned when she felt him move, and then the heat at her back. He also picked up a lock of her hair, inhaling deeply, hinting that he'd lifted it to his nose. Then he leaned up and reached over her to turn out the lamp on the bedside table. Complete darkness surrounded them. She stayed tense, taking shallow breaths, convinced he was going to try to cop a feel or something despite his words of no touching. Minutes passed without incident before she finally took a deep breath. His breaths were deep and even, but he did snore a little. Rolling partially onto her back, she studied him. No moonlight came through the thick curtains, so she had to wait for her eyes to adjust a bit more. Asleep, he was much less scary. The tension left his body. No lines at his eyes or mouth. Those perfect lips partly opened instead of pressed into a tight line. The skin between his brows was smooth instead of pulled down into a scowl. Like this, he was incredibly handsome, almost normal.

But that didn't change anything. Tomorrow, he'd just go back to the fierce king he'd been today.

Lying back down, Ren asked herself if she thought she'd ever get used to it. Unfortunately, there wasn't a voice that could give her a sure answer.

* * *

**Okay so this isn't all I have written. This is just a piece of what I wanted to present for inspection. Another thing I didn't mention up top was that I'm obviously trying my hand at writing in third person so if you see any "I, me, or my" I apologize. I'm new to third person. Again, I would love feedback on whether I should continue this! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So apparently, you guys liked this. Cool! I suppose I'm just going to have to continue or you might come after me ;) But never fear! I am still going to work on the other series for all of you following those! I promise. I've just hit a wall with Will and the gang for right now, so I'm filling the gaps with this one hoping you guys will be satisfied with it until I can get back on that track. However, I have started university again, so my updates on EVERYTHING will probably be sporadic. Sorry about that, but I have tons of writing assignments, or will anyway. But yeah. Like I said, Jacob won't have a lot POVs in this story. It will mostly be Ness.**

**Oh and for the last chapter, I completely destroyed the separating line. Sorry for that. I got it right this time!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

The next morning, Renesmee woke up cuddly warm. So warm that she didn't want to get out of bed. Frowning drowsily, she didn't remember her bed ever being this amazing. She was sunk into the fluff, her forehead resting against something solid and hot. There was also another hot point against the inside of her leg. Well that wasn't right. After a couple minutes of trying, she finally managed to open her eyes…and came face to face with a massive bicep.

In a rush, everything from last night washed over her. She had been picked by the pack leader to become his mate…tomorrow. Jacob Black's mate. For the rest of her life. And the reasons why she was doing it kept her from thinking of bolting, of telling him that she actually wasn't willing, but that she was terrified of him and was only protecting the other girls the best way she knew how.

It was his hand resting on her inner thigh, but not too high. Just above her knee. He was still fast asleep, snoring slightly. Somehow in the night, they'd moved closer together. It wasn't surprising on her part. He kept this place so cold, probably because of his body heat. It was much higher than a human's, almost like he was constantly running a fever. And it was because of that body heat that she'd gravitated toward him in the freezing cabin.

Her stomach let out a huge roar, making her flinch. Just some time alone, to herself. That's all she wanted. And it wasn't a surprise that she was starving. She hadn't eaten the night before, nervous about the Choosing and pissed that her parents had forced her to be "willing". So before her body could let out another hunger call, she carefully picked up his heavy hand to slide out from under him. Once she managed to scoot out of the bed, she went to her bags. One held clothes; the other had bathroom necessities. Her mother had forgotten to pack her robe, and she didn't want to put on fresh clothes since she needed a shower. So, silently, she tiptoed to the closet. When she opened the door, a black robe fluttered out. It wasn't exactly silk, but it was smooth and heavy. It slid over skin as she slipped into it. It was obviously Jacob's because it swallowed her whole and smelled like his cologne.

A few minutes after Ren managed to quietly leave the room, she went downstairs to the kitchen, looking around. Everything was so dark, cave-like. Even the window above the kitchen sink was heavily curtained.

Oh, uh-uh. Nope. Ren was like a cat; she loved sunlight, to feel the warmth tighten her skin. Reaching over, she pulled the curtains apart, pouring sunshine into the house. After basking in it for a couple minutes, she went to look in the fridge. Hmm, eggs with an expiration date coming up, some bacon that still smelled good, and an unopened package of sausage. The pantry revealed dust and a bag of still-good potatoes. Good. Everything she needed for breakfast. Nothing for biscuits unfortunately, but she'd have to see what she could do about that. There was no way she could live here without having a full fridge and pantry of stuff for her to cook. Like a lot of women, she turned to food in times of emotional stress, but instead of eating it, she liked to cook or bake. And right now, she was beyond emotional stress.

So, she cooked. A couple of the eggs had already gone bad, but the rest were good so she made all of them. Scrambled, of course. The only way she would eat an egg. If Jacob preferred something else, she'd learn how to make it. But until he said something, they would stay scrambled. The bacon was perfect with hardly any fat, but still enough to add flavor. And the sausage was, well, sausage. Who the hell didn't like sausage? As she worked, she hummed to herself, already planning on hooking up her iPod docking station the moment she unpacked it. Any sort of silence irritated her to no end. Even when sleeping or reading.

She was just starting to plate a dish when a deep voice said, "Smells good."

Taking a deep breath, she smiled a real smile. It always made her happy when someone appreciated her food. Looking up as she pushed some hashbrowns onto the plate, she said, "Just in time. Everything's done. Have a seat and I'll bring you a plate."

Jacob was dressed in only pajama bottoms as he moved to sit at the bar, watching her move around. "Did you sleep well?"

Trying very hard not to stare at his heavily muscled naked torso, she stuttered, "Uh, yeah, actually I did." Had he worn those to bed last night? Had he worn _anything_? She couldn't remember.

"You sound surprised about that."

Shrugging, she put the plate piled high with food in front of him. "Honestly, I am. I've never slept in any bed that wasn't mine."

His brows lifted in surprise. "No sleepovers?"

She shook her head and leaned her elbows on the counter. "Nope. I don't have a social life, not even as a kid. I always had my nose in a book, and when I graduated high school, Mom and I opened the store. With your permission, of course. Thanks for that, by the way. Not really sure what I would have gone to college for. Never really had a plan." Picking up a piece of bacon, she chewed on the end.

His eyes darkened as he watched her lips when she chewed. When she cleared her throat in an obvious way, he just kept on staring but said, "This looks amazing. Thank you."

He sounded so genuine that she tilted her head, ignoring his lust. "You've never had anybody cook for you before?"

He shook his head. "Not for a very long time. Since before I was turned. Even then, most of my meals were sandwiches or spaghetti with canned sauce."

Ren crinkled her nose in distaste. "Well, if I'm allowed to manage the grocery list, I can assure you that that will never happen under this roof. Ever."

Chuckling, he dug in…and groaned.

"Yeah?" she asked, proud of her work.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin before speaking. "Oh yeah. This _is _amazing. Is this the stuff from my fridge?"

She nodded with a grin as he quickly ate half the plate.

And then he frowned. "What about you? Where's yours?"

Ren waved a hand at the plate. "I'll eat whatever you don't. I picked a lot while I cooked. It's what I do."

Clearly not happy with that answer, he shook his head. "Uh-uh. Grab a fork and help me out."

When she didn't immediately comply, he gave her a look and set his own fork down, implying that he wouldn't eat another bite until she did. Feeling a sense of whiplash about his moods, she did as she was told and leaned over the counter to scoop up some eggs. Once she had tucked in, he started eating again.

"So, where did you learn how to cook like this?"

She lifted a shoulder, chewing on another piece of bacon. "When I was little, I'd bake with my grandmother. Then as I got older, I'd help Mom with dinner and such. But then I developed a way to help me out with stress."

He lifted his eyebrows for her to continue. She went for the fridge for a couple bottles of iced tea while she answered. "Experimentation in the kitchen. I taught myself things other than the basics. Don't get me wrong, my mom is a wonderful cook, but we had the same things all the time. I wanted new flavors, new dishes entirely, or to test out new techniques with traditional dishes. So I started cooking recipes I found online. There was this one Christmas I went through a fudge stage. I made so much that we ended up selling it at the store." She frowned, sipping on the tea. "I think it was last year actually."

Smiling a small smile, he nodded. "Well if you cook this good all the time, you make out the lists and give them to the females who make the rounds. They'll get what you need."

Her good mood died a little, but she wondered if she should let it go or say something.

But Jacob noticed, making her decision for her. "What?"

She tried to let it go anyway. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Again, he set down his fork and raised an eyebrow.

Setting the tea bottle down hard on the counter, she sighed, "Fine. It's just that I normally do the shopping for my own stuff. I like to be the one to pick out my ingredients."

He was shaking his head before she'd even finished talking. "We have people for that. Wolves who aren't so fragile, who aren't human."

Running her finger over the rim of the bottle, she whispered, "I thought I wasn't important to you."

Sighing, he sat back in the chair. "Renesmee-,"

"Ren, please. Call me Ren. It's easier."

Brows pulled low, he shook his head again. "No. I don't like that nickname."

At his tone, she lifted her own eyebrows. "Then what _do _you want to call me? You can't just not say my name for the rest of my life."

It took him a few minutes before he came to a conclusion. "Ness." His tone was so final it was as if he'd set it in stone and that's the way it was going to be. Period.

Her eyebrows went back into her hairline. "'Ness'? Like, the Loch Ness Monster?"

"You don't like it?" Again, his tone dared her to disagree.

Sensing that it indeed wouldn't be good to disagree, she opened her mouth and closed a couple times as she tried to figure out what to say. "It's not that I don't like it. I'm just not used to it. Although it is cute. Ness," she said, trying it out. "Nessie." Trying it out over and over in her head, she nodded. "I can dig it. It'll take me a while to get used to it, but I think I can handle it."

He smiled fleetingly before he pursued the subject he'd been about to lecture her on. Leaning forward on his forearms, he said, "Listen, _Ness_, it's not that you're not important. You are…to this town. Not to me. I don't know you. But I have to do my duty to this pack as their king. Like I said, I didn't, and frankly still, don't want a mate. I could live the rest of my life without one. But the rez and Forks are my home. Taking a mate from here will tie the towns and the pack tighter, making this more _the pack's_ home. I'm hoping that someday, you and I could come to some sort of arrangement or agreement. But you have to understand that you do not take importance over my pack. That's just the way it is. You're a lovely female, and I'm sure you're very nice, but I didn't want this. Now, if we have any young, of course, I'll take care of you and them. But don't think that I'll want anything more from you. I'm not looking for a love match. So you may have been willing, but I'm not. As long as we stand united when around the pack, we'll be fine. I'll leave you to do whatever you want while I go on doing what I was doing before this mess: ruling alone."

All Ren could do was stare at him and breathe through the tightness in her chest. He didn't give a shit that he was ruining her chance at a blissfully normal life. All he cared about was how he looked to the pack. When he turned the chair around and started walking back toward the stairs, she wanted to whisper, "I wasn't willing, either," to his back, but held it back by force of will.

While he went back upstairs to do God knew what, Ren worked on cleaning up her mess and tried not to throw her food back up, which was currently tossing in her stomach. Honestly, she didn't care about him either. She was doing what was needed for the safety of her town, her parents. They were both unwilling yet were doing what was expected of them, what was needed of them. But he could never know that she felt the same way he did. He felt he had no choice and had wanted to pick a mate who did. Maybe he should have gone for one of the older women who'd ogled him like a sex toy. That way he'd have gotten what he wanted. A mate who wouldn't give him grief and would give him young. But how could he want that? Everybody needed somebody to understand them. Ren did. She just couldn't tell him without him wanting to send her back for another female. So, she didn't care about him, but there was an understanding on her part. She'd just have to make sure he saw that.

He came back down just as she was finishing up loading the dishwasher. Flipping the collar down on his beat to hell leather jacket, he said, "I've got some things I need to take care of. For today, I want you to stay in here. Adair will be stationed out front with a couple enforcers. If you need anything, just stick your head out the door and tell him. Your stuff should be here today as well." His voice was hard and cold, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

She looked around. "What am I supposed to do here all alone?"

He shrugged as if he didn't care. "Go back to sleep. Watch a movie. Take a bath. Make your grocery list. Whatever you can find to do, but you're not to go out among the pack without me, so you stay here." Without another word or goodbye, he went for the door.

His hand was on the handle when she gathered her courage. "Jacob?"

He didn't answer immediately and she suspected he was counting to ten. "What?" he ground between his teeth.

"You were right."

That made him turn around with raised eyebrows. "About what?"

Straightening her shoulders, she collected her strength and gave him a bitch look. "You don't care about me. Which is fine. I get it. I'm a stranger. But I don't care about you either. You're a stranger to me, too." She said the next with as much conviction as possible. "I am willing to be here, to be with you. And you made it clear that I am just supposed to help you…ease…the pack's worry that you're not welcome here because you are. You and the pack keep us safe. So, this is our agreement. I'll help you with that, because I am looking to do my own duty to my town since it's clear there won't be anything between us. At least I still have a reason to be here. So when we're here, alone, we'll go our separate ways, do our own thing. In front of the pack, we'll do what we must to calm their fears. It sounds fair to me. What do you think about that?"

She felt her skin tingle as he scrutinized her, but she kept her chin up and eyes on his. His narrowed as he thought of something. "What about the sex? They'll expect you to get pregnant within a couple years if not sooner."

Taking a deep breath, she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "What happens after the ceremony is going to happen. It's your custom, and my delicate sensibilities are meaningless against that sort of thing. I mean, you're obviously attracted to me. I saw that last night. And also as you said last night, you'd make sure I was ready for you. You're a very attractive man, so that wouldn't be very difficult. Maybe that's all that's between us. If that's the case, we'll seek each other out whenever the mood strikes."

His eyes narrowed even more while his boots carried him closer to her. "Wait, you would continue to sleep together even after the sex for the ceremony?"

She shrugged. "You need an heir, right? It's another reason they wanted you to take a mate. I'm here not just for my town, but for you. I _volunteered _for this. This is my life now. And though there's going to be nothing between us, you're going to be my…husband."

He gave her a considering look. "So you're talking about lovers. Nothing more than for the sake of giving me an heir?"

Considering it, she nodded. "Lovers. Casual sex between roommates. Whatever."

"You'd settle for that? Even though you want more from me?"

Now she smirked, cocked a hip, and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Don't flatter yourself. What makes you think I wasn't willing to be here only because I wanted to jump your bones? Like I said, you're hot. What woman wouldn't want you?"

His eyes sank down as he thought about it. They darkened considerably. Turned out, the robe had gaped open, giving him a peek of the white bra and her breasts barely contained within it. Licking his lips, he nodded. "Okay. Lovers. I'll agree to that."

"Can I have my own room?"

"To sleep in?"

She nodded.

"No."

"But-,"

"I said no. This isn't a negotiation." His voice had gone rigidly cold again.

She knew she'd lost that fight, so she found something else to ask. "Fine. Can I at least have my own 'media' room for my stuff? The one connected to your room is great, but it's yours. And if I do have your kids, that room will most likely turn into the nursery since we have to share the bedroom. I need my own space to go my own way."

They met stares, sizing each other up. But eventually he nodded. "Fine. You can have whatever room you want. They're all empty except my office. Now stop asking me for stuff. You sleep in my bed, but have your own room for your things, but that's it. I'm done bending." Walking up to her, he gripped the lapels of the robe. "And it's _our _room."

Confidently moving out of his grip, she let the robe slide open just to cause him grief, and popped the tip of his nose with a finger. "According to you, not until _after _the ceremony. _Dear._"

Ren left him standing there as she climbed the stairs. She felt his eyes on her all the way to the top before he cursed and left, the door slamming behind him.

The rest of the morning, Ren sat at the unused dining room table and made out the grocery list and meal plan. Baking goods and every kind of cooking utensil she could think of went on a different list. The place was empty, devoid of any sort of warmth. Well that was changing. There was no way she was going to live in the Bat Cave the rest of her life. If she was going to force herself to live here and have a semi-life with Jacob, then she was going to do it her way and make this place her home. He'd practically given her run of the place, so she saw it as hers. Fine by her. There was so much she could do with all this space. And when he'd said rooms, he meant it. On her self-given tour of the house, she found eight rooms, including the office across the hall from the bedroom, the bedroom, and _his _entertainment room. There were two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs, not including the one in Jacob's bedroom. Oh, her bad. _Their _bedroom. Downstairs had one big meeting room behind the fireplace, or what she assumed was a meeting room. Just walls and carpet. Not even a chair. She'd thought the door leading into it had been a closet because it was under the stairs. The fireplace was on a solid wall, so she'd wondered what was behind it. Well, she'd found it. A very large empty room. Definitely more like a hotel. How long had this one man lived with all this space? Had they built it hoping he'd take a mate and have his own pack of kids?

After she'd gotten a good look at the house and started having ideas, she went back to the bedroom to check out the tub. It was hands down amazing, and the biggest claw-footed tub she'd ever seen. Thankfully, her mother had packed her favorite bath oil because Jacob, being a guy with no female guests, only had bar soap inside the separate shower. Before getting in, she'd put her hair up on top of her head in a messy bun. Now, she leaned back in the hot water, the scent of eucalyptus and lavender filling her sinuses and calming her down. She was all about natural oils and remedies. Honestly, she had to be because it was physically impossible for her to take pills of any size. Thinking about her plans for the house, she decided she'd ask Jacob for one last thing. A small greenhouse so she could start growing her own herbs. Fresh herbs were not only used in oils, but also better to cook with. Fresh herbs from the store were just too damn expensive.

About an hour later, after soaking to prune status, she heard someone climbing the stairs.

"Hello?"

Reaching out to the stack of towels on a rolling rack, she put one in the water to cover herself. "In the bathroom. What do you want?"

"My name is Adair. I'm the one who brought your bags in last night."

"I remember. What do you want?"

"Sorry. I knocked but nobody came to the door. I just wanted to tell you that your belongings have arrived. Is there any particular place you want them?"

Ren could tell that Adair had moved into the bedroom, but she could see that he wasn't staring into the bathroom because she was facing the door. "How much did you get?"

"Well, we emptied the room you had with your parents. The closet and the bathroom. Anything and everything of yours is here."

"Oh, well, uh, just put everything downstairs. Jacob and I are still making arrangements."

"Of course. I'll make sure nothing gets broken." She heard him moved out of the room just before he turned back. "Oh, and while we were there with your mother, she said that you liked to cook and gave us a list of the supplies you're used to having. They should be here within the hour for you."

Oh, now he was speakin' her language. Hallelujah, she loved her mother. Excited, she grinned to herself. "Thank you, Adair. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Please, take your time, miss."

Standing up, she grabbed for a dry towel and dropped the wet one. Wrapping the dry towel around her, she stepped out of the tub. "I need to speak with you though," she said walking out of the bathroom and tucking the corner of the towel under her arm.

Upon seeing her in just a towel, his eyes went wide as he hastily turned his back to her. "Apologies. I should have waited in the hallway."

"Nonsense. You can't see anything. This towel is huge." Ren walked up to him, putting a hand on his arm. "Adair?"

He nodded.

She smiled. "I decided that I do have a specific place for my bookshelves and the boxes of books."

His eye contact was serious as he nodded. "Of course. Where?"

She pointed toward the door. "The second room on the left. If you would. I can move everything where I want it once it's in there. I just can't lift those shelves."

He bowed at the neck. "I will have that taken care of immediately."

"Adair, you seem nervous with me like this. Could you get in trouble?"

Now his eyes moved around the room, landing everywhere but on her. "Depends. Jacob is a very territorial male. He's the king, and he's made it clear to the pack that you are his, even not being mated yet. If any of us were to transgress against you and he found out about it…" he shivered. "The consequences could be…severe. Very severe, indeed."

She tried to smile comfortingly. "Well, then, I apologize and we won't speak of this, alright? We're good. Nothing happened."

Closing his eyes in relief, he nodded. "Thank you." And then he left to go back downstairs.

Shaking her head, she went to the bags still sitting at the armoire. It wasn't until she was in her underwear that she realized what he'd said. Jacob had told the pack the she was his and had threatened them not to hurt her. Why would he have done that? She wasn't important to him. _He'd _made sure to make that clear to _her_. Slipping into jeans and a sweater, she could only guess that it was because she'd agreed to have his kids. Having young to a wolf was very important, especially to a male. Even more so to a king. If he could keep the throne until the child was old enough, the child would succeed him in king- or queen-ship. Jacob had been king of this pack for ten years and didn't have any young that she was aware of. It was a rarity. Most kings had children by several different females in their first couple years alone. They'd be considered illegitimate if the mating ceremony was considered a wedding, a marriage. Maybe that's what Jacob wanted. Legitimate children by a woman who could raise them until a certain point that they'd have to start being groomed for the crown by him. Could she do that? Raise their children in the same house with their father, a man she didn't love? If she was being honest, she couldn't answer that. No woman knew what a mother would do for her children until she became a mother.

Once she was dressed and presentable, she came out of the bathroom, braiding her hair, and looked at the window. It was still covered by those thick curtains. Nope. Not for long. After securing the braid, she found the separation of the curtains and pulled them apart. More sunlight streamed into the room, brightening it instantly. Letting the tingles rush over her, she closed her eyes and dug her toes into the plush carpet. There, that was better. Now, her first goal was to get some light in here.

Opening her eyes, she gasped. Several people outside were staring up at her. Many of the children were smiling and waving, their mothers smiling as well. Grinning, she waved back, wishing that she could go meet them. But Jacob's orders had been clear, and she really didn't want to piss him off. Besides, she'd meet them eventually. As she watched, one of the little girls who was carrying a covered plate came toward the house. Ren couldn't see what she was doing, but when she went back to stand with her mother, her hands were empty. Ren raced out of the room and down the stairs, bypassing her belongings and the moving guys to fling open the front door. She kept her promise to Jacob not to leave the house when she bent down to pick up the plate. Peeking under the towel cover, the scent of fresh chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies wafted out to her. Straightening up, she waved and smiled to the girl, mouthing _thank you._ The girl giggled and ran off.

Behind her, a presence loomed over her. "Miss, you need to come back inside."

As she turned around to face him, she noticed two huge guys standing to either side of the door on the porch. And then she noticed something odd. The porch, as well as the front door, were further away from the ground than they should be. That usually meant there was another floor under the first. This house had _three_ floors? How the hell did one _get _to the third? She'd explored the inside top to bottom. Storage closets, bedrooms, bathrooms. Nothing led down to a third floor. Unless the entrance was outside? Great, now she was curious and was afraid to ask Jacob about anything else.

Shaking it off for now, Ren looked at the two men, then to Adair. "Can I ask who they are? They _are_ on what's eventually going to be my porch."

Adair gave them a glance. "They're enforcers. To your right is Zeke, lead enforcer." The man nodded once to her when she looked at him. "To your left is Cris. Zeke's second in command." The other one nodded as well. Adair reached forward, looking out behind her at the pack who was gathering around to get a look at their king's mate. He gripped her arm. "Please. I have to insist you come back inside. Now."

Deciding he was a nice and sincere man, she let him lead her back inside. He closed and locked the door behind them while she went to put the plate of cookies on the bar. "So," she said, "are the enforcers kind of like a pack all their own?"

He gave her a look of surprise and a little respect from his blue eyes. Adair was handsome in a rough sort of way. His hair was shaved close to his head in a skull trim, so it was impossible to tell what color it was. But he had chiseled features and tanned skin. Not a natural tan like Jacob's russet skin, but like he was out in the sun a lot. Forks wasn't known for its sunshine. This was a rare day. That had to mean that what tan he did have was left over from their days elsewhere and would probably never fade completely. Like Jacob, Adair had a large frame. Not as tall, but nearly as broad. Chest, shoulders, and arms strained at the t-shirt he wore. Definitely a nice piece of eye candy, though she'd never tell that to Jacob. Not like he would care, though.

"You're very perceptive," he observed in a deep voice.

Ren shrugged. "Kind of need to be here. Just because I'm Jacob's intended doesn't mean it's not still dangerous to me. Besides, how could one not notice that? Zeke was lead enforcer and Cris his second in command. Sounds pack-ish to me." Glancing around him, she noticed one of the movers carrying a box labeled in her mother's handwriting. "Oh, please be careful with that box. Please. It's very important." It was filled with pictures and mementoes from where her family had traveled and brought her things back.

Adair looked at her worried face. "Important?"

Ren nodded, keeping her gaze on the box until it was gently set down. It wasn't the only box though. Her mother must have packed them carefully because three others followed the first. She watched all of them. "My grandfather was one of the top surgeons in the world for most of his career. He and my grandmother traveled a lot. As did my aunts and uncles. And my grandparents on my mother's side. My maternal step-grandfather played minor league baseball for a while. They'd send me pictures and souvenirs. They're all very important to me. Especially now that I won't be able to see them as often, if ever."

Adair reached out as if he wanted to give her a comforting touch but thought better of it, dropping his hand. "Jacob won't keep you from your family for very long. I promise. Right now, it's critical for him that you stay with him. The two of you may not have a connection or romantic notions, but you're still his mate. He _picked_ you. And for a reason. I don't know what that is. Even though he doesn't want a mate, he brought you into this and now feels a sense of responsibility toward you." He paused before continuing. "Can I tell you something that he would never tell you?"

Ren turned to him, barely able to contain her curiosity. "Of course. I welcome any and all information that will help me deal with this."

"The both of you were thrown into this. Any female would have been. Just happened that it was you. Jacob is rough, I know that. I've followed him much longer than he's been king. What he really wants is for you to be comfortable and get to know the pack, to like them. He wants you to have friends here because he doesn't think that he can be what you need when this isn't what he wants. He won't fake anything just to make you feel better. Instead, he'll be mean as a snake so you'll leave him alone and find that you're better off without him."

"So you're saying that he'll push me away to keep from even a _possibility_ of liking me?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug. "It's just an observation. Jacob is a very private man. Having someone suddenly intimate in his life will make him irritable. But the point is, once these critical first few months are over, he'll be more open to letting you out and about. He won't keep you prisoner."

She thought about the insight he'd just given her about the man she'd be sleeping with for the rest of her life while he went to open the knock at the door. Could it be that he was terrifying on purpose? She thought about the cruel things he'd said last night about controlling her life, that she was his to do with as he saw fit. And the things he'd said this morning. Had he just said that to make sure that she would stay by his side when he ordered her to do so…to protect her?

Picking up a cookie, she nibbled on it, thinking about her future husband.

"Miss. Miss?"

Blinking, she looked up. Adair was staring at her expectantly. Sighing, she said, "Adair, please stop calling me 'miss'. It's Renesmee, or Ren. Although Jacob has given me a new nickname. But Ren, please."

Bowing from the neck, he said, "Your cooking supplies are here. Where do you want them?"

Behind him were more wolves carrying bags and large boxes. Some of them lit up, which meant they'd been infected. As that crossed her mind, she frowned. Wait a minute. Jacob had been infected. Why didn't she _see_ him? With everything that had happened last night, she hadn't noticed that something was off.

"Ren?" Adair had leaned over, putting his face in her line of sight.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Um, just in here will be fine. I'll unpack and put everything where I want it. Thanks, guys."

None of the wolves would meet Ren's eyes. Bowing their heads, they moved around her, setting things on the counters. Since she seemed to make them nervous, she grabbed her grocery list and went to Adair, holding it out to him. "Jacob said I can't leave, but there's no food in this house. Do you think that maybe you could find someone to go shopping for me? I prefer to do it myself, but Jacob said no for now. And really, he knows what's best at the moment."

He took the list, reading over it. At some of the items, he frowned. When he was done looking over the front and back of the paper he asked, "What is some of this stuff for?"

Of course, he'd be suspicious of some of that being around his king, especially if he didn't know what it was or what it was used for. "Oh, the herbs are for oils and cooking. I have issues taking any sort of pill so I've started learning herbal remedies as well as essential oils. Better for you anyway. As a human, I do get sick."

"We have a medical cabin."

"Yes, with more pills. I had a choking scare a couple years ago. Ever since then my gag reflex has been screwy. Don't worry. I've done my research on this stuff. Nothing on there is going to be used for more than just cooking or medicine _for me_. Please."

His blue eyes darted between her and the paper a few times before he nodded. Going back to the front door, he followed the wolves out who had brought in her kitchen stuff. It was then that she noticed the house was empty, blessedly silent. She collapsed on the barstool Jacob had occupied earlier and took a deep breath.

Adair poked his head back in a second later. "I've got a couple females on their way to the store as we speak. Everything has been moved in. Is there anything else you need?"

Thinking on it a moment, she shook her head. "Not that I can think of."

He gave her a half smile. "Then I shall leave you to your unpacking. I'll be outside if you need anything."

She smiled back gratefully. "Thank you so much for your help. And the advice."

"You're welcome."

And then he was gone, leaving her with her stuff.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ren ate half the mountain of cookies for lunch since there wasn't really anything else to cook besides potatoes and bacon, and worked on unpacking her stuff. It didn't take long to get the kitchen arranged the way she wanted. After she left there, she went through and opened every curtain in the house. In _her_ media room, she sat down in a patch of sunlight and unpacked her books. The cookbooks would go downstairs, obviously, but everything else was arranged on the four leaning bookshelves that her uncles had made her for her fifteenth birthday. Before she'd put the books up, she'd moved the shelves around. Adair had had the brilliant foresight to have her glass and metal desk brought up here, somehow knowing she'd want it where her books were. She'd picked this room because for some reason it had two windows. So the desk went in front of one while her favorite, plush reading chair went in front of the other. All of that didn't take long because her favorite floor pillows were packed away in a box somewhere. After all her books were arranged, she took the cookbooks to the kitchen, and then went back to the rest of her stuff. Apparently, Adair had also been thinking enough ahead to know to put her boxes of clothes upstairs in the bedroom. So really all she had left were her knickknacks, bed spread, and her own pillows. Yes! Her body pillow. Best pillow in the world. Stuffing it into her lap, she found her oil-making supplies. She was running low on vials. After unloading a couple boxes, there was a knock at the door before Adair came in followed by female wolves with grocery bags. They quickly piled them all up before rushing out. Adair nodded before following them out. Going through everything, she decided that they'd done remarkably well. After her imprisonment was over, she'd have to ask Adair who the females were so she could thank them.

A while later, as the sun began to set, she was standing outside the bedroom door in the hallway. It wasn't until then that she realized she'd been avoiding the room all day. But now, her clothes were the only things left to unpack. Once she did that, there really was no way to stay in denial that this was really happening, that she was actually going to go through it. She'd moved into the pack leader's house with the plan to be his mate, his lover, and bear him children.

Swallowing hard, she went to the first box. It was her underwear and bras. On the brink of tears, she hastily put them away in the armoire. After that first box, the rest came easy. She made quick work the unpacking and tore down the boxes. She didn't know what the pack would do with them, but surely someone would have use of them.

By nightfall, Jacob _still_ wasn't back. And once Ren became still for so long, she started to get cold. Building up the fireplace with the woods next to it, she lit it up, and then went to go start cooking. There was nothing left to unpack and her hands were getting restless. With her iPod docking station on the bar next to what was left of the cookies, she set to work on steaks and baked potatoes. Jacob would probably like his meat rare, maybe bordering medium rare, so she made it rare so that if he wasn't back by the time it was done, she could reheat it to medium rare. But that planning wasn't necessary. Jamming to her music at the sink and washing the frying pan to start on her food, she yelped when she turned around to find Jacob watching her with an amused expression. She dropped the pan is surprise, but he easily caught it with his super speed and set it on the stove. Then he went back to leaning a hip against the side of the counter, his plate of food at his elbow.

"Sorry I scared you."

She shrugged a shoulder as she put her steak on the pan and set the timer. "Don't be. It's not like you actually care."

The amused expression disappeared when he crossed his arms. "Is this going to be a constant fight?" When she didn't answer, he put his fingers under her chin and made her look at him. His touch was surprisingly gentle. "Ness, just because you're not important to me in _that way_ doesn't mean I don't have manners or respect for the agreement we made earlier. Most women would whine and pout that they weren't getting their way. What you did was impressive, especially for a woman you're age. Besides, I suppose, in a way, you are important to me if you're going to agree to have my children."

He removed his fingers, letting her go so she could concentrate on cooking. "So you're going to be nicer to me now that we made the agreement? You know, I talked to Adair today. He told me you're rough, but not heartless, not like you pretend to be. So let's do each other a favor. Not be assholes. Here, in this house, we can be cordial. You say you have manners and respect, then treat me like it. Not like you own me. I mean, you are going to brutally take my virginity no matter what tomorrow night. I can't stop that. But that doesn't mean you get to treat me like your sex toy, even though that's pretty much what I agreed to. I don't want teenage drama. It's going to be an equal sexual relationship between two consenting adults."

At the mention of her v-card, his eyes had widened in surprise. "You're a virgin?"

She felt her face heat up with a blush. "Is that really so hard to believe?" And then she muttered, "_That's _what you took from all of that?"

"Actually, yes. It is. And it is hard to believe. I know I was harsh last night and this morning. I don't take any of it back, but that doesn't mean I'm not a man and that I don't have eyes. You're stunningly gorgeous. Usually, girls that beautiful don't stay virgins for long."

"Well," she said, shoveling her steak onto a plate. "Doesn't look like I will either past tomorrow night." Wanting to get past the subject, she nodded toward his plate. "Start eating. It's getting cold. The potatoes are done. I just need to get them out of the oven."

Surprisingly, he let it go and did as she said. Grabbing the plate, he went to sit down at the table that she'd cleaned up and put candles on. Not romantically, but just to give the place a homey feel. As well as her favorite placemats that her mother had packed for her. After her steak was on a plate and on the table, she went back for all the potato fixings and drinks before sitting down. The wolves who'd done the shopping had apparently known some of the things that Jacob liked because a couple cases of beer had ended up in the fridge, something she hadn't put on her list. Quietly, they sat at opposite ends of the table. The only sounds were the silverware scratching on the plates.

Jacob studied his house while he chewed. "This place looks…different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"Good. You opened the curtains."

She nodded. "You told me I couldn't _go _outside, not that I couldn't _look_ outside. Besides, I _need _sunshine. I am not a nocturnal animal."

He let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I'm not in here enough to really care one way or the other."

"Well that sounds depressing. You have all this space and you don't even enjoy your own home." And then she remembered an idea from earlier. "Oh, um, and I know you said not to ask you for anything else, but-,"

Silently, he chewed, eyebrows raised as he stared at her.

"I'd like a small greenhouse," she said quickly.

He frowned as if that were the last thing he'd expected to hear. "Why?"

Like with Adair, she went through the whole pill episode. "So, it would be easier and cost efficient in the long run to just grow my own. But this is Forks. Those herbs aren't gonna grow without help. You don't have to answer now. I just wanted-,"

"Okay."

She blinked. "What?"

He shrugged. "If it'll make your life easier here, then okay."

When Ren looked confused, he reminded her, "Manners and respect? You just ripped me a new one for that. And I will be having a talk with my second in command. No doubt he's hiding from me right now."

Panic for Adair had her saying, "Jacob, he was only trying to help me understand how to live with you. And it wasn't anything I couldn't figure out for myself. I'm not stupid."

A low growl moved across the table to shiver over her skin. "I didn't say you were. If you really want to understand how to live with me, the first thing you need to know is that I hate people putting words in my mouth."

Nodding a little, she went back to finishing her food. When they both were done, she cleared the table to Jacob's protests.

"Woman, you cooked. The least I could do is clean."

Honestly, she was seriously getting mood whiplash from him.

She gave him a hard look while she washed the dishes. "Fine, put the stuff back in the fridge."

It didn't take long to get the kitchen back to its sparkling cleanliness.

"Well," she said, drying her hands. "I think I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day for me."

Nodding, he followed her up the stairs. The fire was already dying so they left it. He turned off all the lights behind him. When she went into the room, she realized he hadn't followed her, but stopped in the hallway looking in. He studied everything even though all she'd done in here was put up her clothes and bath supplies. And a framed family picture on the table next to her side of the bed. Well, her pillows, too. But really, that was it.

"It looks…"

"Different?" Wasn't that his word of the day.

He nodded. "With the moonlight."

She looked over at the window and the opened curtains. With no clouds again tonight, the moon shined brightly from her perch in the sky. The silvery light flowed through the window, delicately blanketing the floor and the foot of the bed.

"I can close them at night if it bothers you. Just wanted some sunlight while I was unpacking my clothes."

Clearing his throat, he came into the room and started stripping out of his shirt. Again, she had to force herself not to stare as padded for her armoire and pajamas inside.

"No, we can keep them open. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. Where are you going?"

Halfway to the closet with her shorts in her hand, she said, "The closet. To change."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

Well, that stopped her. She looked at the shorts in her hand. "Um, well…I, uh…"

He raised his eyebrows when she failed to come up with something. Okay, so he had a point. Last night, he'd stripped her to her underwear himself.

Shrugging, she threw the shorts onto the bed and wriggled out of her jeans. Not once did she look up, but she knew he was watching her the whole time. After pulling off her shirt, leaving her in an undershirt and bra, she debated taking off the bra. They sucked to sleep in. But sleeping without one was still intimate even wearing a shirt. Deciding to keep it on, she tossed her clothes into the hamper before pulling back the covers on her side. About to slide in, she realized he was still looking at her.

"What?" she asked, looking down at herself.

"You left something on," he said in a low voice. It was both an observation and an order.

Again, she heavily debated keeping it on and fighting with him about making her uncomfortable, about not treating her with manners. But honestly, there was no use fighting it. She'd agreed to be his squeeze, and tomorrow night he'd be seeing her in a lot less because he'd make sure she wearing nothing but skin before they cemented the mating. Not able to face him, though, she turned to sit on the edge of the bed to unhook her bra under her shirt and pull it out from the bottom after pushing the straps off her arms. Then she tossed it to the hamper with their clothes.

Taking a deep breath, Ren slid under the covers. Jacob followed but didn't move closer to her. Rolling over onto her other side, she faced him. The moon had shifted, casting its glow further up the bed, painting him in silver. With the light and her angle, she was able to notice a raised scar on his left pectoral, close to the middle of his chest, right over his heart. She frowned, wondering where it had come from. The color was so close to his natural skin tone that she'd never really noticed it before. Of course, she was always averting her gaze when he showed too much skin. Her fingers itched to trace it.

"What?" he asked from where he lay on his back. Again, he was watching her watch him.

Pulling out of her zone, she shook her head on her pillow. "Nothing."

"Liar."

Playfully poking him in the bicep, she said, "Look, just because I have a think-y face, doesn't mean I have to tell you what I'm thinking."

"Think-y face?" he asked, a slight smile curling his lips.

Now she smacked his shoulder. "Oh shut up." He chuckled, and she laughed with him. Snuggling down in the blankets and the mattress, still smiling, she gently patted the shoulder she'd smacked. "Good night, Jacob."

Sleep overtook her before he answered.

**JPOV**

Tonight, Nessie gave Jacob her face as she fell asleep. God, she was gorgeous. One of the main reasons he'd picked her. He and the wolf both wanted an attractive mate, and since they'd been forced into taking a mate, they damn sure would have one who could give them beautiful young. Ness was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen with her copper hair, fair skin, and freckles. But the night before, it had been her eyes that had caught his attention. She'd been the only woman out there to not look at him with fear or severe lust. Hell, she'd been the only one to meet his eyes directly. It had instantly turned him on. He was a dominant male looking for a dominant female. Even though he didn't want a mate, he knew that he was going to take one from Forks to help his people feel safer. With that knowledge, he automatically knew what he needed. What he hadn't known was that he would actually like her. He liked that she challenged him. The rest of the pack, including Odette, was scared of him. They had every right to be after some of the things they'd seen him do. But Ness wasn't afraid. She would be if she knew what the pack knew about him. Which was why he couldn't get close to her, no matter how much he liked her. He needed to keep himself separate because she was going to find out. He couldn't keep her locked up in this cabin forever. And eventually, they would talk. The females _always_ talked among themselves no matter the species. She'd learn to hate him, so all he could do now was help it along.

He tried to be cold and heartless, as she'd put it. But apparently Adair was sympathizing with the females, talking about him to Ness. Jacob couldn't afford to let this woman into his heart, or too deep into his life. In the past, life had fucked him over too hard for him to trust fate again. He'd never love another woman. How could he? But if Ness bore his young, he'd have to learn to care about them. And that scared him to his very soul. Deep down, he knew he wasn't supposed to be a father. But the pack wanted to see him have an heir. Again, it would be good for them, comforting. And wolves wanted nothing more than comfort, safety.

Unfortunately, he feared their arrangement. She'd agreed to be his lover even though she wanted more from him. The only problem was they lived together. Even people in arranged marriages learned to love or at least care about each other in time. In a few months, could he really say that she wasn't important to him? Would there come a time where he would pick her over the pack?

Reaching over, he gently brushed a curl from her cheek.

Dammit. And she was a virgin, too. He'd be taking that from her when it should belong to someone who _could_ love her. Ah hell, what was he thinking? He could guarantee he'd stay with her after taking it. She'd said herself that she'd never been with anybody. It was doubtful that, if he'd left her alone, the first man she slept with would be the one she stayed with. With Jacob? She wouldn't have to worry about that. But then again, she wouldn't be getting the love either. Dammit. He couldn't care. Just _couldn't_.

Taking his hand off her smooth skin, he promised himself to repeat that mantra every time he felt like he was starting to care for the woman he'd picked to drag down into the pool of suffering that he was currently drowning in.

* * *

**Haha! A little insight into Jake. I was super iffy about adding his POV at the end. And I'm still not sure I should have. But this is a whole new ball game for me, writing them like this out of the Twilight world. So please please please let me know what you think! Love y'all xoxoxoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**So chapter 3! Not much to say except LEMON! The story will start to pick up from here and we'll start meeting fresh characters. Promise!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

The next morning, Ren sat on Jacob's empty side of the bed, staring out the window at the morning sun. She'd already taken a shower and made the bed, dressing lightly as Jacob had ordered before he'd left. Frowning, she remembered how cold he'd been toward her. She was so sure that last night, they'd made some progress. But this morning? Everything good in him that she'd gotten a glimpse of had completely vanished. If anything, he was _colder _than he had been before.

Downstairs, the door opened and closed before she heard heavy footfalls on the stairs. She felt his presence in the doorway but didn't turn around to acknowledge it. Sitting in the sunlight, she allowed herself to partially zone out. But it didn't last long when a shadow fell over her.

In front of her, Jacob was holding a white clothing box and wearing no expression on his face. He placed the box next to her. "These are your robes for tonight." Then he moved away. She glanced at the box, curious, before hearing him behind her in her armoire. Knowing she'd get a cold answer, she didn't ask what he was doing, but watched him. He was sifting through her underwear drawer. Every couple seconds, he would pick something up and then look over his shoulder to study her as if imagining whatever he was holding on her. Eventually, he came back with a matching bra/panty set in black lace and set them on top of the box. Frowning, she peeked under the lid of the box, expecting white. She was wrong. It was a deep red, but the fabric was gauzy.

"I can't wear black under this. Everybody will see that."

He growled low as if impatient with her. "The robe is huge. It'll wrap around you at least three times. Nobody will see anything."

She shrugged. "If you say so."

"I do," he bit out. "Now, about tonight. There's something you need to know about the ceremony."

Tired of his attitude already, she crossed her arms under her breasts and lifted an eyebrow. "What about it?"

His eyes darted down to her cleavage and then back to her eyes. "There's a part of it called the Bonding."

He said it like it explained everything. Well, it damn well didn't. "What about it?"

Those dark eyes narrowed and, if it were possible, dropped another degree in the cold department. "We're getting burned."

Now it was her turn to narrow her eyes. "What the hell does that mean? Stop making me ask questions and just fucking tell me, Jacob."

Growling under his breath, he looked like he didn't want to do a damn thing for her. Instead, she just put an expectant look on her face. Blowing out a breath, he said, "After we say the vows, they're going to tie a piece of cord around our hands. It will have been dipped in an accelerant. Then they'll light it on fire after our hands are bound. Once it's done burning, they'll dump a bowl of water and salt mixture over them so that I don't just heal the burn. We'll both have scars. It's like a permanent wedding ring. And yes, you have to do it."

As he talked, she grew more and more horrified. He was going to _torture_ her? There was no way this wouldn't hurt. Or make her pass out. Suddenly, anger washed over her. Shooting to her feet, she moved toward him and cracked her hand across his face. So stunned by her actions, he just stood there.

"How dare you! You couldn't have warned me yesterday? Or the night before? Not only am I freaking out that I'm going to be losing my _virginity _tonight, but now I know that I'm going to have to participate with a _decrepit_ hand." She let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Oh man. Adair was so wrong about you. You are a heartless bastard." Burning with rage, she stormed out of the room to go shut herself in the room she'd created for herself. She debated locking it but figured he'd just kick the door down. Inside, she crossed to her iPod and the docking station, turning on one of her more angry playlists and cranked the volume up. That way she could pretend she didn't hear him banging on the heavy wooden door for her to open the damn thing.

When she didn't open, he decided to go against what he'd told her about leaving her alone to adjust and flung the door open. He was big and menacing in the doorway, jaw clenched. His eyes were narrowed with anger, nostrils flaring. There was a red mark on his cheek and jaw, but she didn't care. Instead, she ignored him. Going to one of the bookshelves, she grabbed a book and went to curl up in her papasan chair. For a good five minutes, he just watched her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his fists clenching and unclenching.

Apparently, when she stayed unresponsive to him, it pushed him to action. Striding ominously toward her, he plucked the book out of her hand and dropped it on the floor.

Glaring up at him, she snapped, "Hey! You have no right to treat my stuff like that."

"I have every right," he growled back. "I'm the king."

When she threw her hands up in exasperation, he grabbed her wrists, pulling her toward his body. In one swift move, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" she yelled at his broad back.

He carried her out of the room and down the hall to his bedroom.

"Put me down! Right now! Jacob Black, you can't just manhandle people, you big brute. Put. Me. Down!"

Well, she got her wish as he gripped her around the waist and tossed her onto the bed. She bounced on her ass all the way to the headboard. For a moment, they just stared at each other. His eyes had turned amber. They were both terrifying and beautiful in his tanned skin. From her spot on the bed, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them, lifting her chin to him. Golden eyes narrowed and a growl rumbling from his chest, he bent down to crawl over the spacious bed. Though he held a wolf inside him, he moved like a cat over the plush covers. Sensuous, graceful, and lethal. His muscles moved under his skin exuding power and prowess. In that moment, her body heated up for him, leaving her in a state of shock. That reaction had never happened before, ever. She'd never known lust, and there she was feeling heat and an unquenchable hunger in her very lower stomach. Holy shit. Her eyes widened as she realized she wanted him.

He crawled so close to her that he could have rested his chin on her knees that were hugged to her chest. "Listen, female," he rumbled. "And listen well. You will wear what I have picked out. You will wear that robe. And you will have your hand burned. This is my pack and we have traditions. Traditions that will not be broken for _you_. The bonding will merge your flesh with mine, your blood to mine. And no, you won't turn. You'll stay human. But there is a point to the Bonding other than some fancy new scars. It combines our individual essences so that I have a tie to you. If trained properly, I'll be able to sense your emotions and be able to find you anywhere whether I have your scent or not. Do you think I want this? This connection to you? No, I don't. But I'm going to do it anyway. You can hit me and curse me all you like, but you are going to do this, too, even if I have to tie you down to get it done. You were willing to come here, to be with me. You have your reasons. But this is what it is to be with me. Take it or leave it."

Despite how frightening he seemed, Ren's body flared at the dominance in his tone. And how close he was. She could smell his cologne, and underneath that, his skin. The smell of him was woodsy, deep and musky. Like a forest after the rain comes to stir up the dirt and roots, giving the leaves new life. It tightened her stomach even more. For some strange reason, she wanted to do this with him, to watch how strong he was. His physical strength was apparent in the way his big body framed her now. It was like a cage of flesh and muscle. A living cage.

_Get it together!_ she yelled at herself. _He just told you that you have to burn yourself voluntarily and you're eyeing him like a sex toy? Good grief. _

Pulling herself out of the unfamiliar haze of lust, she hardened her gaze once more and lifted her chin. But her defiance was tested when Jacob's fingers skimmed over the top of her foot and moved up her shin, then jumped to her thigh, making her jump. Wrapping his thick arm between her legs and her torso, he used all that strength that she'd just been admiring to move her legs away from her chest. She tried to use what little upper body strength she had to resist, but there was no way to contend with him. Even if he'd been human, she would have lost. Her arms lost the fight, slipping apart. Jacob pushed her legs flat to the bed before pressing one of his knees between them, forcing them apart.

"W-what are you doing?" she choked out. The lust was bubbling up again, surfing through her blood, making it heat up. With him flattening his hands against her knees, she found a way to lock her ankles around his calf in an effort to keep him from widening her legs even more. Today, she'd put on some jean shorts, so her skin was bared to him. The heat of his hands made her shiver so hard that she couldn't hide it.

He didn't answer her question, but she could see the same heat in him. That's when she knew he could somehow sense her attraction. He knew she secretly wanted him to touch her. Ren had been right. No matter whether they could get along or not, there was room for the physical relationship. A spark. And right now, it was lit on both ends. Was he testing the waters? Seeing if she would stop him from touching her? Honestly, why should she fight him? She was about to be married to him for the rest of her life. And she was truly attracted to him. Would be so bad to have a stunningly hot bed partner? Tonight, they were going to horizontally tango, so why not see how hot they could get before the actual act?

Kneeling on the mattress, he used both hands to move over her legs. Looking directly into his amber eyes, she unlocked her ankles and spread her legs just a little. His eyes widened in surprise, but his hands kept moving up to the short hem of her shorts. Ren leaned her back on the headboard, forcing herself to relax. Most women her age, _twenty_, had already had some sort of sexual interaction. Why shouldn't she just get a taste of the heat she could expect the rest of her life? Once she was relaxed down to her toes, Ren put her hands on Jacob's forearms, but not to push him away. He was touching her so she wanted to touch him, to feel those muscles tense under her grip, to feel that power in her hands. The tips of his fingers played with the edges of her shorts, dipping under and back out again. One hand moved cautiously down toward her inner thigh. When she didn't complain, he moved both hands.

Now, Ren gasped at his heat there as he continued to play with the hem of the shorts. So close. He was so close to the part of her that had finally come alive that she pulsed. Jacob growled, eyes glowing so intensely that the amber cast dull color wherever he looked. When one of his fingers brushed her through her jeans, she gasped again. He hadn't meant to, she didn't think, judging by his surprised reaction. But that one touch had her wanting more from him. Instead of going intercourse sexual, she decided to just go for a kiss even though she'd never kissed a guy in her life. However, somehow, she knew exactly what to do. Reaching up, she gripped the nape of his neck to pull his hot mouth to hers. She groaned at the pressure of his full lips. Jacob's surprise lasted about two seconds before he took control, fisting her hair and pushing her closer to him. Kneeling between her legs, he wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her up so she was straddling/sitting on his thighs. Not even caring, Ren wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers gripping his hair. Her legs locked around his waist. His lips were hot and demanding against hers and when his tongue came out to lick her lips, they fell open in surrender. Ren met him stroke for stroke of her tongue with his, tasting his scent on his mouth. She groaned again. Good God. This was what she'd been missing all these years? Plenty of attractive guys in her class had asked her out, and then asked again once they were out of high school, but none of them had really done anything for her. None of them had _moved _her. But now, here in Jacob's arms, his body tensed and primed, she realized that maybe she never wanted someone her age. Both her mother and father had always told her that she was mature for her age. Maybe, just maybe, she knew deep down that she didn't want a guy as clueless as she was. Ren was smart. She knew how sex worked and the hormones. In school, she'd been offered full rides to colleges but had always sensed her place was here in Forks. Was it for this? This experience was something women rarely got to come across. And here she was, a twenty year old girl in a werewolf king's arms, lust exuding from both of them. She didn't believe that she could get this from any human male. Only a dominant werewolf male could give off this much primal heat to feed her desires.

With the deepening of the kiss, Ren rotated her hips, trying to alleviate the pressure building low in her belly. Jacob groaned into her mouth, and she realized that she was grinding on a huge erection. His length was so big through their jeans that she was slightly terrified to know how big it was _out_ of them. But that fear died a little when a wave of satisfaction flooded her as she grasped that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. And the fact that she knew she wanted him astonished her. She'd never felt an ounce of lust toward any guy. Now, all of a sudden, she couldn't wait for the ceremony to end. If it was this good now, what was being naked with him going to be like?

The arm around her waist moved, his hand going down to grip her ass. Her eyes rolled at the pressure and pleasure when his lips left hers to trail a scorching line over her jaw and down her neck. The king in her arms was fierce and passionate as he held her tightly. It wasn't so tight that he would hurt her like she knew he was capable of. But it sure wasn't gentle, which she liked. He knew she wouldn't break and was giving her the same passion she was showing him. While his lips were busy elsewhere, Ren sucked on the spot behind his ear, her hands roaming his broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms while they held her. His teeth nibbled and bit along her jaw and collarbones, leaving behind little stings before his tongue went back over them in a soothing gesture. Putting her head back, she moaned toward the ceiling.

Abruptly, his head snapped around toward the door with a loud, vicious snarl.

In a pleasure-filled haze, Ren put her hands to the sides of his neck. "Shh, what is it?"

"The elder females. They're at the front door, here for you." His voice was a low growl, like his chest was full of gravel. "I'm coming!" he yelled. Evidently, they were knocking on the door.

"Me?"

Turning back to her, Jacob tightened his grip in her hair and at her ass. "To ready you for the ceremony." His lips came back for more, tasting her skin.

Frowning, she tried to think through all the lust clouding her brain. "But…it's not even lunch time yet. The ceremony's not until tonight."

"Apparently," he placed another kiss to the hollow of her throat, "it's a long, complicated process." The growl dropped his voice lower when he said, "Especially if you're a virgin."

Jacob cradled her head as his lips continued to scorch her skin.

"Jacob, my king."

Gripping Ren to him, Jacob turned and snarled toward the new voice. "I told you I was coming. That meant wait until I let you in."

Ren peeked around his shoulder to see a tall woman with long hair in varying degrees of grey and silver. Her eyes were an abnormally bright blue, and her skin was smooth and unlined. Those blue eyes looked from her king to Ren. When she looked back to him, she looked bored and irritated with him at the same time. It was a look that Ren recognized from her own mother. "I understand that, my king. But it's time. We must ready your mate; and you have your own preparations to make."

"Dammit, Carina," he growled before throwing Ren from him so forcefully that her back hit the headboard once more. It seemed he had to force himself from the bed. When he was standing once more, he looked down at her with that heat boiling in the amber. He rubbed his fingers over his mouth, staring at her legs. "We'll finish this later," he said before pushing past Carina to leave.

The older woman turned back to Ren with an amused smile. "It seems you've gotten our king into a tizzy."

"Is that a bad thing?" Ren demanded. It seemed that now that Jacob was away from her, she could think straight again. And she didn't like this woman's tone.

Carina shook her head, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders. "No. Definitely not. It's a rarity for anyone to get him to show anything other than anger or to show emotion at all."

For some reason that made Ren grin with pride.

"You are good for him, Nessie."

The smile vanished. Clenching her jaw, she scooted off of the bed. "Thank you, Carina. I hope I do well by him and the pack, but for future reference, Jacob is the only one who gets to call me that."

Surprise widened Carina's eyes. It was the expression that said it wasn't common for others to tell her what to do, but that she was impressed someone finally had the balls to do so. She bowed at the neck as two other females walked up behind her. "As you wish…my queen."

**JPOV**

As Jacob banged his fist on the door for the third time he was still wondering what the hell had just happened. Being so close to Nessie, he'd been able to smell the faint lust before it had built. Had she liked him telling her how it was going to be? Had she really liked him that close to her? Well, obviously. They'd had their first kiss and there had definitely been, not just sparks, but a roaring fire between them. Thinking back to just a few minutes ago, he couldn't help but remember how she'd felt in his arms. He'd loved how supple and pliable her lithe body had been, how small she was compared to him. And her skin? Made his eyes roll back into his head. So smooth and delicate. But at the same time, she wasn't soft. She was strong, taking what he'd dished out. What took the cake, though, was how much she'd seemed to like being kissed by him, having his mouth on her body. She'd told him she was a virgin, but had that been her first kiss? If it was, he wondered how good it was for her. For some reason, the answer meant something to him.

Dammit, why wasn't Adair answering the fucking door?

Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened and Jacob had to look down because it wasn't Adair to answer, but a petite female. One he recognized. Her brown hair was mussed around her face. The long-sleeved shirt she wore was buttoned up unevenly. Clearly flustered, her eyes flicked up to him briefly before she shuffled out of the cabin around him.

Jacob could hear Adair coming down the stairs of his cabin, which wasn't near as big as Jacob's. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, looking back as the female darted down for another cabin.

Adair appeared at the bottom of the stairs, zipping up his jeans and scowling. "Having a last meal before you murder me."

Jacob frowned. "You don't sound like the meal was all that…satisfying."

With a hand, he motioned to where she disappeared. "She's great actually. It was you who interrupted round four, my king."

Jacob raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything to that. Instead he asked, "Isn't that Dante's female?"

He shrugged, running a hand over his skull trim. "We have an arrangement."

That was impressive. Dante was an enforcer and an extreme badass. His tastes in sex ran between the lines of just rough to BDSM. Sharing his female didn't seem like a quality he would own. "Do I want to know?"

"As long as we're not killing each other, probably not."

"Good," Jacob said as he let himself into the cabin. "Button your pants before I see something I don't need to."

Adair did as he was told and then started for the kitchen. "So, it's your mating day. Don't you have things to do?"

"You mean after beating the shit out of you for talking about me to her?" Jacob said nonchalantly as he followed.

Getting into the fridge, Adair pulled out a couple bottles of beer and popped the tops. He took a long chug before looking to Jacob. The expression he gave Jacob was one that let the king know Adair was about to be candid, a side of him that Jacob actually liked, but didn't encourage. "I was only trying to reassure her that you're not a monster."

"And who said I wasn't?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he took a swig.

"I did." Adair's stare was very direct. "Jacob, you are my king, but I am much older than you. To me, you're still a child in years. I've known monsters, and you're not one of them. What happened to you did change you, I'll admit to that. Gemma-,"

Snarling, Jacob shoved Adair against the fridge, claws at the male's throat. "You swore never to mention her again." At just the name, Jacob saw nothing but red and blood, revenge pumping through him even though he'd already taken it years ago.

Adair swallowed carefully, but continued. "Gemma got what she deserved for what she did to you. Nobody in that pack or this one blames you for what you did. And if you hadn't done it, I would have gone back and painted that field with her blood myself. You are a good man, Jacob. But a man nonetheless. With the beast inside us, our need for vengeance burns a lot hotter."

"The pack may not blame me, but they fear me."

Adair gave him a look. "Of course they do, as well as fear me. As well they should. We came out of nowhere to fight and kill our way to the top. Two fierce fighters wanting to take over the pack. They were terrified that we'd be like their old leader. Merciless and cruel. But what you've done for them since you became king has been nothing if not selfless. You protect them, make sure they're cared for. And now, you're to take a mate if only to allow them the feeling of lasting safety, even when you don't want a mate. Don't think for a second that I didn't know you wanted to argue with Odette."

It was times like these that the weight of Adair's long life pressed down onto Jacob. Adair constantly played the twenty-something kid he'd been frozen to when his immortality had taken affect. He'd been born a werewolf and was hundreds of years old. But right now, with his words, it was easy for Jacob to realize he was just a child in the face of something like Adair.

Slowly, Jacob backed away from his second in command and put away his claws. "You're right. I don't want a mate. But for future reference, Adair, I don't want you poking into my personal life. What little I have of one, I want to keep private. And Nessie is now a part of it."

He raised an eyebrow at the nickname but didn't comment. Instead, "And what if she comes to me?"

"Then be generic. Lie. I don't care. Just don't encourage her to think that there could ever be anything between us. We've come to an agreement, and I'm okay with where we stand. Don't fuck that up by giving her ideas that she can be the Beauty to my Beast. It won't happen. Ever."

Leaning back against the counter, Adair took a long pull from his beer. Jacob knew he was about to say something he wouldn't like. "Ren is not Gemma, Jacob. Don't punish her for the sins of another woman. A woman who is no longer alive."

Putting his beer back down, he glared at Adair. "I don't beat the poor girl. I understand this is hard for her."

"May I ask you something?"

Sighing, Jacob chugged some more. "I suppose. Since we're on a roll."

Adair lifted a corner of his mouth in a half smile. "Why her? If you don't want an actual mate but just a bed mate, why not pick one of the…lustier females? They'd have been happy to be in your bed and nowhere else in your life."

For a long moment, Jacob just drank his beer and thought about the answer. The truth was, he didn't really know. There'd just been something about the way Ness had defiantly met his eyes that he'd liked. It had sparked something inside him more than lust. Sure, there'd been other attractive females closer to his age that he could have mated and kept that way, but none of them even came close to the hot flame that was Ness. The strength he'd seen in her eyes made him want her, and in a lapse of judgment, he'd brought her here.

And in all honesty, he hadn't told her the entire truth about the mating ceremony. The one they were going to have tonight was going to be the formal one, meant for life mates. He'd only intended the informal ceremony that could easily be broken. But after seeing her strength yesterday, he'd made the changes this morning to make it formal. Though it wasn't fair for her, he wanted to keep her. It went against everything he was preaching about how he didn't want more from her or a mate. However, after the interlude this morning before Carina had interrupted, he knew that he wouldn't be able to let her go. He wanted her passion, and wanted to keep it. She'd wanted him. If their arrangement could get worked out, the kinks smoothed over, then maybe she could find a way to be happy here with the pack. Being happy with _him_ was something he doubted she'd ever be, especially if she were to learn of his past. He was well aware that the female of his past was not the same as the woman currently in his house. Though he'd only had her for a couple days, Jacob couldn't not admit that she fascinated him. Such strength from a human female was rare, especially one so young. Just twenty years old and she was willing to take on a vicious werewolf king? Of course that would grab a male's attention.

Without Jacob having said a word, Adair nodded and put the bottle to his lips. "I see. Her tenacity _is_ pretty impressive. Just the right combination of dominant and submissive. Little more of the first than the second. Always attractive."

Jacob's gaze shot to him. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "It's why I would have picked her…if I was truly looking for a queen. Is _that_ why you picked her? To be the queen your people deserve when you think yourself a king unworthy of _them_? You've been their king for a decade, do what they need from you, and yet none of them have ever spent quality time with you. You avoid parties and celebrations, coming out only to anoint newborn young to the pack before disappearing again. You rarely smile. A lot of kings interact with the males of the pack, playing poker and drinking, talking about females while watching football. Yet you do none of that."

Jacob gave him a look. "Thanks for pointing out how shitty I actually am. You're a good friend," he snapped sarcastically.

Adair took it all in stride. "I know you, Jacob. Better than you think I do. You're a king, doing what's necessary for his people. But you don't take the liberties. You don't…concern yourself with them individually. Ren, as your queen, seems the type of female to concern herself with the pack. She could give them the royal attention, as it were, that you so seemingly don't want to give or think you _can't_ give. I think that's why you picked her. You sensed the true dominance of her. Not just for yourself, but for them. And while we're on a roll, I have a bone to pick." When Jacob raised his eyebrows, he said, "Did you not tell her that it's custom for the female to be locked away from the pack before a mating ceremony? She seemed to think that you were keeping her prisoner or that the pack would attack her without you there."

Shifting uneasily on his feet, he didn't meet Adair's eyes. "I may have implied it."

The second in command rolled his eyes. "Is that really how you think to control her? She's a dominant human female. If you truly want her to be the queen of this pack for your people, then be honest with her. She's going to be your mate, living in your home, possibly having your young. Dominant women, no matter the species, wish to be treated as an equal, which means with honesty. Just because there is no love between you doesn't mean that you can't still respect her. If you treat her the same as you've treated every other alpha female like Gemma and Odette, that's what she's going to turn into. You can't do the same thing over and over just to expect different results."

Jacob gave him a bored look. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. That was a delightful speech."

"That was not a Star Wars reference."

"Doesn't matter. Same difference."

Adair frowned and shook his head. "Anyway, just a little advice from an old wolf. I remember back when matings were arranged. I watched the pack leaders learn to deal with their alpha females. Treating her as an equal even if the relationship was purely sexual always worked out better for him in the end." He nodded toward the door. "You should go. The elder males are probably waiting for you."

His last hunt as a single wolf. Jacob and the elders would hunt for the feast. A meal neither he nor Ness wouldn't attend because he'd be too busy taking his female. There was no waiting for that part. The evidence had to be given to the elders before sunrise tomorrow.

Chugging the rest of his beer, he left the bottle on the counter before leaving Adair staring after him.

**RPOV**

As the sun started to set, Ren sat in her matching underwear set, staring into the bathroom mirror. Rajani, a wolf who looked like she'd been an Arabian princess, was behind her, twisting her copper curls into elegant braids and swirls. Carina and Idalina were busy writing on Ren's body with gold and red paint. The script was in a language she didn't know. Carina had told her that it was an ancient wolf language that had been created for werewolves the ability to identify each other long ago before they'd gone into hiding from the humans who hunted them. This particular pack had been around for thousands of years, some of its citizens the continued bloodlines. The three women themselves hailed from this pack. According to them, Jacob and Adair were blessings bestowed upon the pack. Apparently, the previous pack leader had been a cruel, dominating male, taking females whether they were mated or not. And because he was so vicious, none of the other males had dared challenge him, their weakness forcing them to watch their females forced under the king for hours and hours on end while he fed his insatiable appetite. Until Jacob and Adair had come along, transferring from another pack. After seeing the condition of the pack, the two had started to climb their way to the top of the rankings. Idalina recalled the battle between the king and Jacob, saying that Jacob matched and surpassed Ryker's viciousness. Ryker, who had been trained by the Vikings, had been ripped apart by a youngling like Jacob. Apparently, it had been a sight to see as Jacob had stood victorious covered in Ryker's blood. Adair had taken on the previous king's son, who had learned from his father. But Adair had managed to get a good enough position to rip off the man's head. Yep, that would certainly win a fight.

As the women brought out a beauty she'd never known she had, she met her own gaze in the mirror…and wondered if it were possible to be any hotter for Jacob. Ren knew that she should be terrified of him after that story, but all she could imagine was Jacob's powerful body smeared with his enemy's blood, his eyes amber in the tan of his face. She imagined him with battle wounds, possibly claw marks or puncture wounds from sharp teeth. Repressing a shudder of pure lust, she gritted her teeth. Didn't want the ladies to smear the paint and have to start over.

Once done with Ren's hair, Rajani pulled out a large, flat jewelry box. Inside was what looked like a thin platinum necklace with a single stone. A ruby in the shape of a teardrop as big as the nail on her pinky. Instead of putting it around her neck, Rajani threaded it through Ren's hair. It was a circlet.

"The ruby has always been the jewel and color of this pack. It is supposed to represent passion and loyalty. Ryker preached that it meant violence and bloodshed. What he failed to see was that the colors are meant for the queen. Always the queen for she is the heart while her male is often the head." Rajani met her eyes in the mirror. "And for you, my queen, the color becomes you."

They shared a smile.

"Why do you call me your queen? You know nothing about me."

The three women shared a look. Rajani reached up to gently pat Ren's cheek over the dried paint. "Call it female instinct. The three of us have been around a very long time and have seen the rise and fall of many queens."

They all murmured in agreement. And then Idalina clapped her hands, looking excited. "Robe time! Off with the bra!"

Ren was all for the excitement before she realized what the she-wolf had said. Then she just blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"The way we've decided to wrap you up. The bra has to come off."

"But the bra can't come off!" she said, her voice a few octaves higher.

"Oh honestly," Idalina scoffed, dismissing the comment with a flourish of her hand. "You humans and your problem with nudity. Honestly," she said again.

Carina put a hand on her hip. "And just why can't it come off?"

Ren groped for an answer, and just when she was about to lose to the logic of these women, she grasped one. "Jacob!" she yelled triumphantly. "Jacob picked out my underwear. He _wants_ to see it on me." _Uh-huh, take that!_

Rajani tapped a nail against her chin. "She has a point." Then she motioned with her hands. "Up, up, up!"

Ren stood up carefully, trying not to dislodge or smear anything. Carina came forward with the red gauze. "What are you thinking, Ani?"

Taking the robes, Rajani fiddled, ripped, and folded while they all watched. Silently, she wrapped the fabric around Ren. They maneuvered carefully around the paint. Eventually, the other two figured out was Rajani was doing and started to help. In the tall mirror, Ren saw it, too. Low on her waist started the skirting. Two pieces were pulled up from the back to drape over her shoulders, and tightened to cover her breasts. That had been the style they'd wanted to begin with, but the bra starkly contrasted the red and her skin, so Rajani took the strip she'd ripped off and, pulling it across her breasts, tied it in a knot at her back. There. She was covered but still showing all the skin that was painted plus extra.

The three of them stepped back, glowing.

"A queen," Carina said.

"Our queen," Idalina chimed in.

Rajani just gave a very feminine grin.

* * *

Taking a deep, nervous breath, Ren waited just in front of the front door to the cabin. Carina, Idalina, and Rajani left to hurriedly ready themselves for the ceremony, telling her to wait for Adair to come get her. The scent of eucalyptus and lavender comforted her. The elders had made her soak in oils and rose petals, cleansing her skin for the mating. Since she was pure inside her body, having not lost her virginity, they'd taken great care to make sure she was pure on the outside as well. Her hair had been washed with the softest, sweetest smelling soap she'd ever seen. And it made her hair silky to the touch.

Just as she was about to start going over every step of the preparation in her head for something to do, there was a knock on the door before Adair poked his head in. He did a double-take when he saw her, jaw slackened. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

Gulping herself, she nodded. "I don't think I really have a choice, do I?"

Sympathy touched his expression. "But you look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Opening the door a little more, he held his hand out to her. "We're all ready. We just need our female."

Taking another deep breath, Ren reminded herself why she was here, and then reached to grip Adair's hand. He squeezed it reassuringly as he led her out of the cabin for the first time in two days. A plethora of scents bombarded her. Cooking meat, smoke, and the sharp scent of lightning from a coming storm. The night was cold, threatening to send chills over her skin. What prevented it was the pack's warm energy. She could actually _feel_ it, coming and going like waves on the beach. The entire pack, close to two hundred wolves, turned to stare at them with amber eyes. The energy and the emotions were turning them. As the crowd made a walkway for them, she saw that all of them were wearing clothing in shades of grey. Adair was in a pair of light dove grey loose pants and shirt. The color complimented his skin tone nicely. Every now and then, Ren would feel someone touch her, making her jump. But she remembered that wolves were comfort creatures, which was why they traveled and hunted in packs, and mated for life. When she saw the little girl who'd given her cookies, she grinned and waved a little. Giggling, she hid behind her hair and smiled back. As Ren passed her, she whispered, "They were delicious."

Adair gripped her wrist, forcing her attention back to moving forward. As they neared the front, she saw Mindy, the new transfer, and smiled at her. But right beside her? Odette. The female was practically naked in one layer of very dark grey gauze. Glitter shimmered underneath from the fire as if it had been painted onto her skin.

Ren did her best to ignore the woman.

At last, the last of the crowd parted. A huge bonfire was roaring from the middle of the crowd. The yellow flames perfectly outlined Jacob's hard line. When her eyes finally adjusted, her breathing hitched. He was _gorgeous_ painted in the firelight. His red pants were of the same fabric as her "robe" and the same color. His muscular torso was thrown into sharp contrast against the color. The fire danced shadows over that skin. Atop his head sat a crown of antlers. They looked fairly new. The meaning was perfectly clear. He was a king of hunters, predators. And now, her king.

She was really doing this, leaving her human life behind. She wouldn't become a werewolf, but she was going to have to learn their customs, live by their rules. It was a completely different world in the same town that she'd been born in.

He watched her hungrily, eyes roaming her body. She saw him swallow hard as if he were remembering their moment earlier.

Adair led her all the way up to Jacob. Once they stopped, Adair dropped her hand and bowed low. Ren wasn't sure if she was supposed to copy him, but she didn't get the chance to try. Jacob put the back of his hand under her palm to bring her the rest of the way to stand before six wolves. The three females she knew. The three males were strangers. The elders were all clad in the same shade of grey as Adair, but in long flowing robes.

Just like at human wedding, Jacob faced Ren standing in front of them. "You're lovely tonight, Nessie."

"Thank you," she whispered. "Not so bad yourself, your highness."

It was clear he stifled a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carina do the same.

What looked like the eldest of the elder males stepped forward. He held up his hands, silencing the murmuring. When the wolves were quiet, he said in a loud voice, "Tonight, our king is taking a mate." As expected, cheers went up. The elder waited for it to calm. "For years, our king has taken excellent care of us, and now it is time for him to learn his own happiness." He looked down to Jacob with his own amber eyes. "My king," he acknowledged with a bow from the neck.

Jacob nodded in return.

The man gently lifted their clasped hands up higher, and pulled them to face him. Carina handed him a bowl. Dipping his thumb into it, the sharp scent of blood made her sinuses burn. Moving forward, he placed that thumb firmly between her eyes. "Our new alpha female shall wear the blood of our king's final kill as a single male as a sign of her acknowledgement of his prowess and ability to provide for her."

Thankfully, nothing dripped down her nose. She may have vomited if it had. The blood was still warm, which meant the kill was fresh.

The old male turned to Jacob, stamping his thumbprint between his eyes. "Our king shall wear the blood of his last kill as a single male as a reminder that he is capable and worthy of a mate."

Jacob looked as if he wanted to scoff or snort but held it back. Ren squeezed his hand. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Jacob Black," the male said, pulling our attention back to him. "Our king of a decade, this female has accepted your proposal as her mate and the mark of your kill. Do you acknowledge her acceptance?"

Jacob nodded. "I do."

"She has agreed to take you as a mate, into her body, and bear you young. Do you acknowledge this gift?"

She could see him grit his teeth before saying, "I do."

"Do you swear to care for her, to be what she needs in a male when she needs it?"

"I swear it."

"Will you show her our ways to help her transition to a proper queen?"

"I will."

"Will you stay true to her and her alone, and your vow?"

"I will."

Stepping forward, one of the other males reached for Jacob's right hand to wrap a thin cord, just as Jacob had told her would happen, around his hand and ring finger.

Once he stepped back, Carina stepped forward and started to speak to her. "Renesmee Cullen, our king's chosen female, this male has pledge his proposal to you in form of the sacred hunt, offering you the fruits of his labor. Do you acknowledge his proposal?"

Nervous again, she fought a shiver as she nodded. "I do."

"He has agreed to take your body, to offer you a family. Do you acknowledge his gift?"

"I do."

"As a male, he will deny his need for female interaction. Are you willing to give him what he needs from a female when he needs it no matter his denials?"

Trying not to grin from Jacob's look, she said, "I am."

"Will you show him ways to reconnect with his humanity?"

The humor left, replaced by purpose. She squared her shoulders. "I will."

"Will you stay true to him and him alone, and your vow?"

"I will."

Rajani stepped forward to wrap the cord around Ren's left hand. "Females _always _wear the rings on their left hand, no matter the species," she whispered with a small smile.

Ren tried to smile back, but it wouldn't come with knowing what was about to happen to her.

"Raise your hands and press them together," the male commanded. When they did, he said, "Do not interlace them." Then, looking to Ren, he lowered his voice. "It will hurt, but it won't last long."

She nodded.

Jacob put the fingers of his other hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Keep your eyes on mine. Okay?"

She nodded again.

Both Carina and the male each lit a match. More than anything, Ren wanted to grip Jacob's hand, but he just kept his free hand under her chin, keeping her eyes on level with his. They were strong and sure, telling her that she could do this. Somehow, she knew that if she could endure this without a single utterance of pain that it would be good for her. Carina counted down under her breath. At "one", the fire whooshed up, licking Ren's skin. The pain was beyond explanation, but she kept her eyes on Jacob's. The skin around his twitched but that was the only sign that the burn affected him. His strength was amazing. And catching. Gritting her teeth, Ren straightened up, lifted her chin, and forced the pain out of her eyes. Jacob's expression was touched with just a little bit of respect and surprise. When the fire finally died, the string burned away, Jacob gripped her fingers tightly right before a large bowl of salt water was poured over their hands. Her first instinct was to scream, but instead, she just dug her nails into Jacob's skin and clenched her other fist, nails digging into her palm. Before she knew it, they were throwing red towels over their hands, dabbing the wounds.

Jacob nodded to her before gently turning her around to face the crowd. They were utterly silent, the amber of their eyes dancing with the flames.

"Packmates!" the male called loud enough to carry. "I present our king…and his queen!"

A roar exploded from them as drums started up somewhere far out. Even Odette cheered with them. As the drums pounded and other music started elsewhere, they all spread out and started to dance, but still made sure to leave the path they'd created earlier.

In the uproar, Jacob leaned into Ren's ear. "Are you alright?"

Blinking, she looked down at her burned left hand in his right. Surprisingly, the pain was muted, dying down next to his warm palm. And now that she looked at it, the markings were strangely beautiful, exotic, and very permanent. With a small smile, she nodded. "Yeah, I think I am."

Before he could say anything else, a low chant started among the pack. "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss…"

Ren and Jacob looked at each other. She shrugged.

His face turned to stone, nice and cold. The man seemed determined to keep her at a distance. Well, fuck that. Reaching up, she pulled him down to her mouth just as she'd done that morning. Again, he was surprised for all of two seconds before wrapping his arms around her waist and taking control. The wolves howled and whistled. While they went wild again, Ren pulled back to whisper against his lips, "Do what we have to for them, remember?"

After a moment, he nodded.

Carina appeared in front of them, followed by the other two. The three of them bowed first to Jacob. "Our king." Then to Ren. "Our queen."

Both Ren and Jacob acknowledged them with a nod each.

Rajani held up a platter of something toward Ren. It was meat of some kind cut into strips.

Ren studied it curiously.

"Your mate's kill," Idalina explained. "It is custom that you eat from it to show your acceptance and appreciation."

Glancing up to find Jacob watching her, Ren took a piece. She'd never eaten deer in her life. Well, she assumed it was deer. That's the kind of prey that was plentiful around here, big enough to feed wolves. Steeling herself, she took a hearty bite instead of just a nibble to keep from showing a weakness. An alpha female wouldn't nibble her food. Maybe if they were in private, but with the pack's eyes on them, there was no nibbling. As she chewed, she was surprised at how good it was, and soon finished the whole piece. Suddenly ravenous, she reached for a second. But when she went for a third, Jacob stopped her and shook his head. The three females gave him annoyed looks.

Ren frowned. "What?"

Idalina was about to answer when Jacob silenced her with a raised hand. He jerked his head to the left. "Go. If I'm to get you the evidence before sunrise, we have work to do."

The three of them bowed again, but Ren could see their smug smirks before moving into the crowd. She turned to Jacob. "What was that about?"

Bending over her, he said into her ear, "They laced the meat with an aphrodisiac. The more you ate, the less you would have control of yourself. And honestly, I'm not into rape. With you out of your mind with lust, that's essentially what I'd be doing."

"Oh," was all she could think to say.

"The small amount that you took in would just…emphasize…the lust you showed earlier." His heat enveloped her with his nearness.

She took a shaky breath. "And you don't need any, I take it?"

His dark eyes started to bleed to amber as they roamed her body. He shook his head slowly. "Not tonight, if ever." Again, he put his lips to her ear. "We may not get along elsewhere, but I doubt I'll ever need help wanting your body beneath mine."

Eyes rolling, she shivered again, letting the drug take effect. God, she wanted him. And through his loose pants it was clear that he wanted her. This was it, she was now tied to this man for the rest of her life. Just one last step before they were completely mated. Was she nervous? Duh. The size of the bulge in his pants was terrifying. But it was also tantalizing. She desperately wanted to finish what they'd started, and he had promised that it wasn't over.

With a growl, he pulled her to him again, pressing that erection against her soft stomach while he bruised her mouth with his. And then he was dragging her toward the cabin. Lifting her skirts, she followed at a half run to match his steady stride. As they quickly moved for the cabin, Ren could feel the eyes of the pack on them. Flushing, she realized that they knew what she and Jacob were about to do. But that wasn't enough to make her squeamish. Tonight, she wanted him despite his attitude. Feeling giddy, she shook off his hand to run out in front of him. Laughing at feel of the cold air on her skin, feeling the rush of the drug run through her, she looked back over her shoulder to give Jacob a grin. Growling, he hurried to catch up. When she made it to the cabin, she left the door open and ran for the stairs. He stalked after her, his big body moving in a sensuous predatory sway. Halfway up the stairs, Ren looked out at him. He took the crown of antlers off and threw it on the couch without even looking at where it was landing. His amber eyes were glued to her body. Letting him catch up, she sashayed her way up the rest of the stairs. When she heard him catching up, she laughed and started hurrying down the hall. Sexual energy danced through her, making her feel way more beautiful than she ever had in her life. Feeling light, she twirled down the hallway.

Eventually, Jacob caught up to her. He reached out for her, but she twisted out of his grasp, leaving him gripping the tie of the fabric wrapped around her chest. The knot pulled loose. Fluttering down her body, she face him, letting it fall to her feet. They faced each other, breathing hard. Jacob's otherworldly energy seethed out from him, warming the air around her. As if it had a mind of its own, the energy caressed her skin, tightening her stomach in anticipation. Little pricks of electricity nipped at her, turning up her body's reaction.

In a rush of movement, Jacob moved in front of her, the growl constant and low. His heavy breathing was warm on her face. Since neither of them seemed to know how to proceed, Ren tentatively reached out to skim her nails over the skin of his abdomen. The muscles contracted under the touch. His breathing hitched. Slowly, she drew one nail down, down, down to the waist of the pants.

"Is there a _customary_ way to do this?"

"Not normally." His voice was rough and jagged.

"But?" she asked looking up at him through her lashes. Her fingers dipped below the waist of his pants.

His next breath shook on its way out. "But alpha males generally like their females submissive at the first mating." Gripping her hips hard, he leaned into her touch. "Meaning we like our females on their hands and knees."

Her head fell back when he put his teeth into her neck and growled. The vibrations shivered down her spine before she gently moved away from him. Putting her back to him, facing the bed, she reached back and up to the clasp of her bra. In a feeling of more bravery, she unhooked it and looked over her shoulder shyly at her new husband. His eyes grew brighter, the amber casting shadows over the bed and the room. Ren teased him as she slowly slid the straps from her shoulders and down her arms. After they fell from her fingertips, she reached up to pull the lace from her body, leaving only red gauze to cover her. Which actually only gave her skin a new hue of color and didn't actually cover anything. Spinning around, her skirts flew out around her hips and thighs and floated down as she sat on the foot of the bed. Crossing her legs, she leaned back on her hands to stare up at him. She'd never bared herself to anybody before, not even her mother. And here she was flaunting herself to a very aggressive male who didn't look as if "gentle" was on his vocab list for the evening. What was more was that she really didn't care.

With very precise movements, he stalked toward her, amber eyes bright in his tanned skin. Not taking those eyes from hers, he bent down to uncross her legs before kneeling between them. Starting at her ankles, moved his hands up her legs slowly, lifting the fabric of her skirts. "You know, for an untouched female, you're very persuasive in the art of seduction."

She watched as his hands moved up over her knees, baring her legs even more. "I have no idea what I'm doing to be honest." She giggled. "It's the aphrodisiac."

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "No, it's really not. There was very little of it in the two pieces of meat you ate. This is you, and it's natural. A beautiful woman who knows a male wants her. It makes any woman brave to know a male, especially an alpha male, finds her sexy."

Ren felt her eyes heat up with his words. He'd called her a woman and sex in the same breath. She'd never saw herself as anything more than a normal girl with passionless life. Sure, she had love and caring for her books. But nothing with another person. She'd never _felt_ like a woman or saw herself as more than just pretty.

Sitting up, she gripped his face in her hands and crashed their mouths together. Tomorrow, she'd hate him and his iciness again, but right now, she wanted him to make her feel beautiful, not just tell her. Even a man who hates his wife couldn't deny that she was beautiful if she was. For him, that may have been why he married her to begin with. Ren and Jacob would never love each other, but it was possible to bask in the physical relationship, the one thing they apparently agreed on.

His fingers dug into her thighs just below her panty line as he fed at her mouth. Digging her fingers into his hair, she broke the kiss to throw her head back. Those warm fingers had moved over the thin lace of her panties, trailing a heated line between her hipbones. She'd shaved in all the places it counted this morning, and was really grateful for her decision when he groaned into her mouth in reaction.

Okay, they were going entirely too slow. Sure, she didn't him to hurt her, but this anticipation sucked. As if reading her mind, Jacob abruptly cupped her sex in one of his big hands. With a gasp, Ren opened her legs in surrender. His heat was incredible. And apparently, he liked what he felt because he growled. Pulling his lips from hers, he roughly kissed and bit along her skin the way he had that morning. Down over her jaw to her collarbone. Further down between her breasts. Lower, past her navel. Down, down, down to the low waist of her skirts.

"Yes! God, yes!"

He growled again just above where his hand cupped her, fingers stroking her through her quickly soaking panties. While he continued to lick and nip her hipbones, his free hand moved over her torso, brushing aside the robe to bare her breasts to him. Not only didn't she care, but she moved that hand over her, pressing his palm over her sensitive nipples. With a more vicious growl, he hooked two fingers into the cloth between her thighs and pulled. She lifted her ass just enough to let him tug her panties down and off her legs.

Leaning back, he kept his hand on her breasts, moving back and forth over them as if he couldn't quit touching her, and lifted her balled up underwear to his nose. As he inhaled deeply, his amber eyes stayed on hers.

_Uh-oh_, she thought while she watched the humanity slip from his eyes. He was gearing up for alpha sex and they hadn't done much to prepare her for him. But she couldn't seem to really care. She wanted all that masculinity and testosterone to dominate her. If Jacob knew she was a virgin, surely the beast inside him did, too.

In a move so fast she couldn't see his individual movements, he flipped her over onto her knees and lifted the skirt to bare her ass. His big hands landed hard on her flesh, not a slap, but a firm grip. She could hear a now steady growl from him as he moved around behind her. A lick of fear hit her stomach. _He won't hurt me_, she told herself while his hands moved up and down the backs of her thighs. She tried to look over her shoulder, but warm caress of his tongue between her legs had her gasping and yelling out at the same time. Clutching at the blankets and sheets, she went down to rest her upper body on the bed, and awaited his next touch. When there wasn't another, she whimpered.

"You liked that?" he asked suggestively. He knew full well that she did.

She just nodded. But he didn't like that.

Gripping her ass hard again, he said, "I asked you a question, female. I expect an answer."

"Yes," she gasped. "Yes. Don't stop. _Please_."

With a deeply masculine chuckle, he licked her again. She moaned and spread her legs even more. While he continued his ministrations, her body tightened hard. Her nails ripped at the sheets while he growled and lapped at her. His tongue and teeth were absolutely sinful against her tender flesh. It was even more delicious when the pad of his thumb stroked over her clitoris, adding wonderful, stomach-clenching pressure.

"Jacob," she breathed. "Yes, Jacob. Please."

His next growl pushed her over the edge. Writhing, screaming, and clawing at the bed, she experienced her first orgasm and craved more.

"You taste damn good," he snarled between licks.

Ren jerked and twitched, shivering at each new sensation. She was sensitive now, but he kept lapping at her, taking in the pleasure that had erupted from her body.

"Don't go soft on me yet. We're just getting started."

He allowed her a moment of peace before she felt his fingers back on her. When he dipped a finger inside her, she felt her body tighten around him. "_Oh, God,_" she moaned.

"Relax," he told her. "Take it. Take it all the way in."

Gritting her teeth against the pressure, she pushed her hips back to take him further.

"That's it," he praised, circling that finger inside her. "Stay relaxed. I'm going to add another. I want to break that wall before I take you. I have a feeling that once I'm inside you, there won't be gentle."

A shiver ran over her body as he pulled that one finger out and pushed two back in. The tightness was painful at first. He allowed her a moment to adjust to him before moving, widening his fingers as he pushed them in and out of her with increasing speed. Eventually, he pressed in a third finger, further widening her. Progressively, her body bucked and rocked with the powerful thrusts of his hand. Just as the pleasure was about to be too much, it became pain. She screamed when something inside her ripped. Jacob's hand stilled while she writhed in pain.

"Shh, easy. Just breathe."

Through gritted teeth, she said, "I take it…you've been…through…this?"

"Once or twice." Slowly, he started moving again.

She breathed like he'd told her, and soon the pain ebbed into more pleasure. He was deeper than he'd been before, so deep. When she started working her hips over him, he started to growl again. When he left her body completely, Ren felt the loss and whimpered.

His big hand smoothed up her spine as he chuckled low. It must have been the hand he'd used on her because wetness followed his touch. "Never fear, female. I'm coming back." The tearing of fabric followed his words. The hand on her back moved to her shoulder, gripping it. "Up on your hands. Pull the blankets down."

Ren did as he said, tugging the comforter down toward him. She felt him yank it the rest of the way off so that she was kneeling on cool white sheets. Climbing up behind her, she felt his hot erection press into the back of her thigh as he positioned her further up on the bed. Before he entered her, he ripped off the rest of her gown. Held up on her arms, she saw that all that carefully applied paint was smeared on her skin, some of it transferred to the sheets. Maybe that was another ceremonial thing. The paint of the female on the "evidence".

Just as he had with his fingers, he met her flesh with the head of his shaft, circling in the leftovers from her orgasm, and no doubt whatever had come from breaking that barrier. Even from that small touch, she knew he was huge and hard as steel. And she wasn't afraid. It would hurt a little, but he'd used three fingers to help her adjust. Surely that was enough.

Rocking his hips into her, he pressed that erection into her. Ren let out a loud gasp, feeling his girth. Three fingers had barely been enough. Gripping her shoulder, he rocked her with him. While he moved forward, he pressed her back. Inch by inch, she had to remember to relax her body. The more she relaxed, the easier he slid inside her.

"That's it. Take it," he groaned.

He filled her up. And she knew when he was all the way in because his hips met her ass. God, the fullness of her body. And his heat. Pleasure made her shiver again.

"God, you're so fucking _tight_. I can feel you squeezing down on my cock. Shit." He palmed her hips, gripping tight, but didn't move.

She needed movement so she rotated her hips against him, feeling his shaft pulse and jerk inside her. Digging her nails in the sheets, she growled, "_Move, Jacob!"_

A dark chuckle escaped him. "As the lady commands."

He pulled out slowly, caressing the walls inside her. His thrust back in was powerful and sated her need for movement. He paused though, as if expecting her to tell him it was too much. When she didn't, his grip tightened painfully on her hips before he started stroke after stroke. The slapping of his skin on hers was a wet sound, probably sweat mixed with the fluids he'd already brought forward from her. His heavy sac beat against her already sensitive clit with every thrust, shooting more and more pleasure through her, making her shred the sheets with her nails.

In a burst of energy, he gripped her hips and quickly hammered into her, jostling her and making her breasts slap together. Already Ren's body was covered in a sheen of sweat. The pressure in her body was building again, only bigger. Around her, her hair was coming undone from the careful braids and knots as it was meant to. Jacob pushed the weight off her back before gripping her arms just above her elbows. "Up," he commanded in a growl. He pulled her torso up off the bed, gripping her arms, using her as leverage to thrust harder and harder up inside her. This angle was somehow shallow but sharp. The male behind her was fierce in his taking. Her body bucked and shivered, breasts bouncing with each movement.

Jacob lowered his head to her shoulder, lips and teeth on her skin. He moved his hands yet again to cup her breasts, using them as his handles. Her back was forced to his front, further lowering the depth of his shaft inside her. But the changing angle changed where he hit her inside. The head of him was very clearly rubbing over a pleasure spot. The G-spot? Who the fuck cared? The pressure was becoming too uncomfortable. Mewling sounds crawled out of her chest. She needed release again.

"Please," she breathed, thrashing her head against his chest. "I can't…please…"

One of his hands snaked down over her stomach to the apex of her thighs and rubbed the top of her sex. That was the last drop she'd needed to spill over the edge. In a loud, ragged scream, she broke apart in his arms, body bucking against him. Her body locked down around his, keeping him from thrusting as far. A moment later, he let out his own roar in her ear as he released his seed inside her. Hot jets pulsed, her body taking everything he gave her.

When they were both spent, he gently laid her out on the bed. Panting hard, Ren twitched with aftershocks as Jacob pulled out of her. He stretched out beside her, moving her hair from her face. There was no way she could move in that moment. Her entire body was filled with Jell-O. Or pudding. Once her face was clear of her hair, she was able to look at him. Sweat poured from his hair down his temples. Surprisingly, she found that she wanted to lick it off his skin, but couldn't' manage the movements just yet. Looking down his body, she found him still hard and raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled. "Alpha male. It's a requirement to have stamina and the ability to go come multiple times in a session."

Her eyes widened. "We're not done yet?"

Running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, he shook his head. "Not by a long shot. There are several more ways I want to take you before the night is over."

Ren tried to smile. "Let me get right on that."

Jacob chuckled again. But it was much darker. "Not tonight, female. Tonight, _I_ do all the work. You're no longer a virgin but I'll show you the pleasures you've been missing. The very many different ways I can take you."

He ran a hand down her back and over her ass before getting to his knees and moving to kneel between her knees. When she tried to get up again, he pushed back to the mattress with a hand in the middle of her back.

"Stay. You're my toy for the evening."

_That sounds exhausting,_ she thought. _But so much fun. Let the games begin._

**JPOV**

Close to sunrise, Jacob carefully rolled out of the rumpled sheets naked and stared down at his exhausted mate. She'd been beautiful tonight with her painted skin and red robes, and then later in her passion. He'd had her five times before they'd both passed out. But now, he needed to get this sheet to the elders as proof the mating was cemented. Leaning down to scoop Ness up to take her to the couch in the media room, something else caught his eye. Reaching over, he picked up the ruby circlet she'd been wearing. Red had been a very complimenting color to her. She'd looked like a goddess beside Adair as he'd led her to stand before Jacob.

Gently, he wrapped her in the discarded comforter and put her on the couch before stepping into a pair of jeans. After stripping the bed of the sheet, which was spotted with paint and blood, he left the cabin and went for the elders'. The party was still going on, several of the wolves bowing to him, brushing their hands over his torso. In the east, the sky was lightening.

Adair moved up beside him. "My king."

"She's sated and sleeping," Jacob told him. No doubt the wolf was worried about the small girl with a hulking male. "Perfectly safe."

"That is…good news, my liege. And her hand?"

Thinking back through the events of the night, Jacob could only remember her saying that she was fine just after the ceremony. Nothing about the burns or pain had been mentioned after they'd gotten into the cabin. He shrugged. "I suppose she's okay. I'll check them when I go back inside."

Adair bowed his head. "Very well, my lord." Then he left to go back to the celebration.

The elders' cabin wasn't far from his own, so he got there in just a few more steps. Carina, Idalina, and Rajani were already waiting for him. He'd folded the sheet before he left so that nobody else would see it. Not because it would mortify Ness if they did, but because his private life was just that, private. When Carina opened the door, he followed her inside.

"My king," she bowed. "The mating is done I take it?"

He held the sheet out to her. "Yes. Here's your trinket for the histories. You can inspect them if you need to."

"Oh we will," Rajani said. And then she skimmed a finger over his shoulder. "Although this could be proof enough."

Jacob looked at his shoulder. There were lines of red that were healing from Ness's nails. He gave her a very direct, cold look to let her know the subject was not a welcome topic. "My queen is a very…passionate…lover. And you will not mention it to anyone."

Rajani bowed low at the waist. "Of course, my king. I meant no offense."

"If we're done here…" he turned for the door.

Skirting the edge of the crowd of wolves, he made it back to the cabin and locked them in before going back upstairs. Ness was exactly where he'd left her. After he made up the bed once more, he picked her up and nestled her into the plush mattress and pillows. Before moving to his side of the bed, he picked up her left hand. The burns were red and irritated. Hmm, she'd need to soak the hand in hot water tomorrow-he glanced at the window- or whenever she woke up.

She smiled, pulling her hand out of his grasp as she rolled over. "Mmm, where'd you go?"

He stripped his jeans and crawled into the bed. "To the elders. It's nearly sunrise."

Mumbling, not even opening her eyes, she tucked herself into his side, snuggling her face into his shoulder. "Good night, Jacob."

Gritting his teeth, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stared at the ceiling. _Could not, would not, care for her. One night of great sex changes absolutely nothing._

* * *

**So? What do we think? Pretty sure I want this Jacob. And again, let me address the other story: No, I am not abandoning it. I fully intend on finishing and continuing the story. But right now, things are touch for me. From now on, updates will be very sporadic. And I apologize. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Sorry. But I do love y'all and appreciate any feedback! Thank you! xoxoxoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, chapter 4! Sorry I've been gone for so long. But even now that I'm back, please don't be expecting regular updates. I'm still full time in school and have a bunch of writing for that, but I've missed you guys and writing for fun. Also, I am still planning on updating FBS. I promise a new update for Will is going to be up hopefully by next weekend.**

**So this chapter is very lemony. Sorry, I know a lot of you are looking for plot and twists. Don't worry. We get a peek and some hostility. But first our alpha couple has to bond a little bit. We start to see a little more softness from Jake. And a new fight between them. Also, sorry for all the typos. Even rereading it, I don't catch them.**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

Ren came awake slowly, blinking at the sunlight streaming through the window. She'd just had the best sleep of her life, and she knew why. Jacob had been fierce in his taking of her body. Not one for working out, she wasn't used to the tightness of her muscles, and every single one of them hurt. Last night had been the most amazing of her life so far. God, it didn't matter that she and Jacob didn't love each other. Love with sex was overrated in Ren's mind. Sure, it might make it better, but not having another experience to compare to last night, she wasn't sure she cared. The pain in her body was a delicious mark.

Okay, so she probably should have felt violated, but honestly? Nope…just no. If anything, she couldn't wait to do it again. Maybe her sex arrangement with Jacob would work out after all.

Groaning, she stretched out on the bed. On her stomach, she went up on her elbows and realized two things. One, Jacob wasn't there. Two, she was hogging the bed, laying diagonally. She'd been hugging Jacob's pillow to her face. Abruptly, a pile of her clothes appeared beside her. Frowning, she rolled over onto her back, clutching the sheet to her chest. Jacob was standing on her side of the bed having just come from the closet. He was naked in the sunshine, and she could see smears of gold and red paint on his russet skin. There was also a darker red that she suspected was blood. Flashes of last night reminded her that she'd set her nails into his skin as he made her come over and over again. She shivered in her patch of sunlight.

"Mmm, good morning," she said.

His expression stayed cold. "It's one in the afternoon. Get up. We need to shower."

Glaring up at him, she went to her elbows again. "You know, you could try not being such an asshole. We did just have amazing sex all night. And if you didn't have a stick up your ass right now, you'd probably be getting more as we speak, like I see you so obviously want to." Indeed, his shaft was quickly growing again. Feeling mean this afternoon, she went to her hands and knees, giving him a spectacular view, and crawled off his side of the bed to get to the bathroom. Turning back, she gave him a winning smile, grabbed her clothes, and went to take a shower. She was going to take her sweet damn time so he could have the cold water.

When the hot water hit her body, she moaned a little. The shower was huge and had two showerheads with different functions. Reaching up, she turned one of them into a pulsing jet that massaged her muscles while she did her normal shower stuff under the other one. Ah, she could get used to this life. If only Jacob would quit the stoic king crap and act like a man. Last night, they'd been perfect together. When she'd said something hurt or winced, he would back off and work her up to it. He was a superb lover, not that she had experience before him, but still. But outside of the lust and sex, he was a coldhearted bastard. She had no idea where Adair had gotten his load of crock about Jacob, but he was wrong.

Turning around to put her wash cloth up, she yelped and dropped it instead. Jacob was standing in the shower doorway behind her, watching.

"How long have you been there?" she demanded. What, she couldn't get privacy now?

Instead of answering her, he moved through the water to stand in front of her. Abruptly, his hand shot up to grip her hair at the roots, yanking her head back and pushing her body to his. Fear made her go still except for her harsh breaths. Pain made her cry out, but he didn't loosen his hold. His eyes flashed amber and his canines lengthened as he put his face next to hers. "The last person who spoke to me as you just did didn't come out of a coma for three months."

Little alarms went off in Ren's head. She'd heard about the tempers of the werewolves, especially the alpha males. Every warning said to tread lightly because this wasn't foreplay. He was pissed. However, along with the fear came anger and a need to lash out with words. So, even though she knew she stank of fear, she kept her cool as best she could. Moving closer to him so that their bodies touched, she looked him in the eyes when she said, "By that punishment, I'm going to guess it was a male. And it pissed you off, your highness. But I am not that male. And _something_," she rubbed her stomach against his erection, "tells me that you liked it coming from me. So stop trying to scare me into submission, Jacob. And _take_," she pulled out of his grasp even though it hurt, "your hands off me." Done with her shower and thoroughly pissed off, she backed toward the door, keeping her eyes on him. "The sex might be consensual, but I refuse to be abused. I don't know you well enough to know how you rule this pack, but that is _not_ how you will act with me." Still keeping her eyes on him, she pulled down a towel and wrapped herself in it. "I bet they've never seen softness from you. I bet they don't know how gentle you can be."

"Shut up," he growled.

"Too bad," she spat. "I saw it last night. With how you treated me. A vicious killer would have forced himself on me no matter my pain, but you didn't. I was terrified of you, just like everyone in the town told me I should be. And then last night, I saw the man, the _human_ inside you. So you can toss me over your shoulder and feel me up all you want, but I will never believe you'd ever actually hit me. But don't you _ever_ put your hands on me like you just did again."

His growl turned to a snarl. "Shut up, Ness." It was a threat. Plain and simple. Those eyes stayed amber, glaring at her. Glancing down, she saw that instead of losing his erection, it had grown harder.

"Is that why you hide from them?" she continued to goad him, happy with his heated reactions. She tried her best to keep her attention off his body. "I saw you last night, taking that sheet to the elders, how you avoided your own people. Do they know anything about you?"

Again, he was on her so fast she couldn't comprehend his movements, backing her toward the wall. He snarled in her face, snapping his teeth. Though his hand was around her throat, he added no pressure, providing evidence to her argument.

"Is that self-hatred I see in your eyes, Jacob?" she whispered, her anger dying down.

They just stared at each other, his hand at her throat. And then he lifted his lips, just a baring of teeth. He pushed away from her. "Get out."

While he turned to the shower, moving in jerky movements, Ren grabbed her clothes and shakily went into the bedroom. Collapsing on the edge of the bed, she relearned how to breathe but remembered his hand at her neck. With the power he had in his body, he could have easily crushed her throat without breaking a sweat, but he hadn't. Maybe she'd judged him way too fast. There _was_ something good in him, but it was buried too deep. She was starting to believe that he was known as vicious because that's how he wanted to be perceived. He made himself look that way.

A piece of her aching for him, she looked down at her left hand and traced the burns with her other hand. They still hurt, but the hot water from the shower had helped release the heat. Looking at them, it hit her that she was married. The man in the shower, the man who'd just taken her virginity, was her husband. And she'd stripped away his arrogance for just a moment to glance a piece of his soul. All her life, Ren had been told that she was good at reading people. Jacob was a stranger and a mystery to her, but looking at her hand, she was determined to strip his soul bare. This man may not have wanted a mate, but he needed one. And now, Ness was going to be what he needed. A queen to his king.

When the shower cut off, she hurried into her underwear. She'd pulled on her jeans and a ribbed undershirt and started towel drying her hair as he walked in, hips wrapped in a towel. Water beaded on his naked torso. Silently, he stalked around her to go for the closet.

"Jacob?"

He just stopped on her side of the bed, but didn't face her. At least he'd stopped to listen.

Dropping the towel, she walked around the still messy bed to stand just behind him. Ren pressed her burned hand to the center of his muscular back. "I'm sorry."

"Don't," he said sharply.

"It's who I am. I do something wrong and I apologize. Please let me."

After a couple heartbeats, he half turned toward her. He gave a curt nod.

Letting out a deep breath, she moved around him so that she could face him. She'd been taught to look someone in the eye when apologizing. "I shouldn't have said what I did. You have your reasons for what you do with your pack. And you _are_ their king. I'm an outsider forced upon you for unknown reasons." Reaching out, she took his scarred hand with hers. "I've only been here for three days. We don't know anything about each other, but I know this. We are bound to each other." She squeezed his hand. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting with you. I'd like to get to know you, to become a friend. Civil, remember? Part of our agreement."

At first, she thought that maybe, she'd gotten through to him a little. His eyes had softened a touch, brows losing the scowl. But then, he seemed to come to a conclusion. His expression tightened, eyes going cold. "Your apology is accepted as long as you never challenge me again. As for the rest, I will never be more to you than the only man in your bed and the father of your future children." With that, he pushed past her to go into the closet. "Finish getting dressed. Today, you meet the pack."

Fighting the tears, Ren took a deep breath, swallowed her emotion, and squared her shoulders. She tugged her shirt on before braiding her hair, and then stepped into her shoes. Jacob didn't take too long to get dressed, and he seemed surprised that she'd waited on him. He covered it with a scowl. She followed his broad shoulders down the stairs and then made a pit stop at the kitchen to grab a bakery muffin. She was starving. Grabbing a second one, she handed it to Jacob. He shook his head.

She tilted her head. "Please? If I'm this hungry, I know you are. Since I'm meeting the pack, we probably won't be back for a while. You need to eat."

He stared at her a moment before cursing and taking it.

Ren hid a smile behind his back.

"Stop smiling. It's just a muffin," he said over his shoulder.

Her eyes went wide as she paused. "How did you-?"

"Know? I can smell it."

Rushing to catch up with his stride out the door, she asked, "You can smell a smile?"

With an actual smile, he reached behind her to close and lock the door. "You'd be astonished of the things I already know about you just by your scent."

"Like?" she asked eagerly. She'd actually managed to get him to start talking. But then again, they were now out of the house. They'd agreed to act cordial in front of the pack. However, right now, she'd take what she could get from him.

"You love your books. Yesterday, when I tossed your book on the floor, that's when you got really angry. And you really love to cook. Just now, I could still smell your joy from the day before of being in there." He peeled the muffin and dug in.

But she was too fascinated to let it go. "But you knew all of that without my scent. What else?"

Finished with the muffin in three huge bites, he stuffed the paper into his pocket and then turned to her. He lowered his head so their cheeks brushed, his warm lips at her ear. "I know you like it when I say 'cock'. Last night, you got flustered and your body bucked against mine every single time I said it. Even now, your body is warming up, flushed with heat. You want to go back into the cabin, lock us up, and ride my _cock_ the rest of the day and night. Despite the fact that we're at each other's throats. _That's _the traditional way of an alpha couple. They fight and they fuck. Which is the exact agreement we made."

Fuck. Him. As she flushed, she cussed him out in her head. _Goddammit, sonofabitch._ Her body _was_ warm and wet. Gritting her teeth, she turned her lips to his ear. "You evil bastard," she hissed.

Straightening up, he laughed low and dark. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he turned her to look out at the cabins. Wolves and humans were milling around. The females were talking, some of them in various stages of pregnancy. Children darted back and forth. The older kids ran around with footballs or soccer balls. The younger kids played tag or chased each other with sticks around the bonfire that was already lit up. It wasn't as built up as it had been the night before, but it still gave off considerable warmth.

As they walked, Jacob seemed to don a new persona. He kept a small smile and nodded to those who bowed to him. When he introduced Ren, they'd bow again, offering her something to eat or drink, or maybe a trinket from their home. She tried to gracefully decline, but not having had any friends before coming here was catching up to her. Other than in a business manner, she didn't really know how to interact with these people.

Looking around her, Ren realized that Jacob wasn't the only one who needed someone to breathe life back into them.

**JPOV**

Ness was surprisingly skittish around the pack. Jacob watched her while she shook hands with wolves, but looked shocked when the males would bow over her hand and kiss her skin. Some of the younger single males would keep their mouths on her just a little too long for Jacob's taste, pulling a low growl out of him. Instantly, they would back off and go to their knees in front of him. Ness would give him an arch look over their heads. He just shrugged. She didn't understand. He was pack leader and whether or not he wanted a mate, the wolf inside him recognized her as his. There would be no sharing. Period. And Jacob, as a human, had never been into the sharing thing either. As they'd walk, he'd wrap his arm around her waist possessively, fingers playing at her sensitive hipbone. She shivered every time.

Right now, they were walking further out. Many of the older couples preferred to stay at a distance, wanting time for themselves, which was fine as long as they participated in pack events. And the elders were out this way as well.

"Wait, wait!"

He and Ness turned at the little voice yelling after them. Liddy was running toward them, her braids flying out around her. Her mother, Theresa, wasn't far behind, an anxious look on her face like she was worried how they'd react to being interrupted. Honestly, Jacob tried to avoid the children. He wasn't at all sure he was worthy to be around them. Both Adair and Ness had been right in what they'd each thrown at him.

Surprising him yet again, Ness grinned. "Hey, you!" She held her arms open and the girl ran into them, hugging his mate around her waist as if Ness had known the girl since birth.

Theresa bowed low to me. "I apologize, my king. She wished to meet our new queen."

"It's alright, Theresa. No harm," he assured her with what he hoped was a comforting smile.

She nodded, wrapping her shawl tightly around her shoulders and watched her daughter.

Ness had knelt down, petting Liddy's braids. "And what's your name?"

"Lydia." Her face fell. "But everyone calls me Liddy."

Nessie frowned. "You don't like it?"

"I do, but I like _my_ name better."

Ness nodded as if that were the most logical thing in the world. "Well, then I shall call you Lydia if that's what you like best." The girl glowed. "My name is a mouthful."

Lydia's eyes widened. "What is it?"

"Renesmee."

"Wow."

He couldn't help the chuckle even when he saw Nessie try not to grin.

Ness nodded. "Yeah, but most people call me Ren. It's a lot easier. However, you can call me whatever you want."

"Really?" Lydia had moved closer to run her hands over the weight of Nessie's own braid.

Ness nodded again. "Absolutely." She tapped Liddy's nose. "Those cookies were amazing. Did you make them?"

Grinning again, the young nodded. "Momma helped with the harder stuff, but I got to put everything in the bowl and then put them on the pan. I even tasted the dough to make sure they were perfect."

"Well," Ness said proudly, "You did a fine job. Jacob didn't even get any. You'll have to make some more for him. I'm sure he'd love them, too."

Bowing her head, Lydia looked up at him from under her lashes. He could scent that she was both scared and nervous to be around him. They just stared at each other, him at a loss as to what to do.

Nessie looked over the girl's head to him. "Jacob? Wouldn't you like to try her cookies? They were really good." She gave him a look that said _try_. Somehow she'd known that he didn't mingle with the pack often and therefore didn't know how to placate them, let alone relate to his own people.

Clearing his throat, he knelt down onto his haunches, looking from Ness to the girl's mother and then down to Lydia. "Hi, Lydia. Is it okay that I call you Lydia?" She nodded slightly. "I'm pretty sure you and I haven't officially met since you came to live with us, have we?" She shook her head, chin still lowered to her chest. Reaching out, he gently put a finger under her chin to lift her eyes to his. He smiled when their eyes met. "There. That's better. A pretty girl like you should never hide her face."

He could see Ness trying to hide another smile. He refrained from rolling his eyes at her.

Lydia's smile was dazzling.

"Even better," he praised. This was getting easier. Maybe he did still have a bit of human charm left. "Now, about those cookies. How soon can you get them done?"

Her eyes widened before she looked to her mother. Theresa smiled. "Tonight. We could have them done after dinner."

Beside Jacob, Nessie grinned. "Perfect. I'll come pick them up when I drop off the plate of yours that I still have."

Instantly, Theresa bowed her head. "That's not necessary, my queen. We would be happy to pick it up and drop off the treats."

"Nonsense," Nessie said, waving it away. "Jacob and I are going to go for a walk after dinner. We'll just stop by then."

"We are?" he asked, surprised that she'd made this plan without consulting him. Not that it mattered. It was just a walk, but still. He got a little hot just thinking that she'd confidently told him what they were going to do. Damn mating.

"Yes, we are," she said, chin lifted, eyes daring him to protest.

"My queen-," Theresa started to protest.

Ness held up a hand. "Please. Really, it's nothing."

Now the woman went into a full bow. Other wolves passing by stopped to stare. "I apologize, my queen. I did not mean to tell you what you can and cannot do."

Hurrying forward, Nessie pulled her up. "No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything. We're okay. I promise."

Theresa still looked spooked that there would be repercussions. With Jacob, maybe. He didn't like to be argued with, but that was because he was the king, the alpha of the dominant. He was rarely, if ever, questioned. Only Adair and Nessie had had the balls to question him, to defy him. Theresa glanced up at him, a question in her eyes.

He shrugged. "What happens between you and my mate is not my business unless she comes to me or is threatened."

Lydia went to her mother, hugging her legs.

Theresa petted her daughter's hair as if it were a comforting gesture. Probably was. Again, wolves were creatures that sought comfort.

"I'm sorry, Theresa," Nessie said. "I didn't realize…I'm just very new to this. But I can tell you that I am not a queen type. You don't have to bow or curtsy, or call me your queen. In fact, I kind of prefer it. Unless it's some pack event that makes it necessary. Honestly, I don't know what kind of queens you're used to, but I can assure that I'm not the kind to strike you down if you make a mishap. And arguing with me? It's refreshing, actually. So please, don't feel like I'm going to…I don't know, whatever it is mean queens do."

Jacob understood the tears that pooled in the female's eyes. She'd been abused at the hands of her last alpha female. Lydia was the illegitimate daughter of the queen's mate, and had been about to turn her anger onto the child. The king had ordered Theresa and Lydia away because he wasn't willing to let go of his arranged alliance with the queen to mate Theresa. So to protect them, he'd petitioned Jacob for shelter for the two of them. Of course he'd agreed. But he knew that Theresa had at least been uneasy about Jacob taking a mate. Often times, the chosen queens were obscenely dominant, which for some reason, came with a side order of cruelty and sadistic tendencies. It would just take time of Nessie being around for the pack to realize that she was nothing like most queens. Dominant, yes. But he knew she wasn't cruel. She was only twenty years old, born in a small town with all American parents. He knew the citizens of this town and had known Bella Cullen, then Swan, many years ago. Her father and his had been good friends and probably still were. Jacob hadn't been back to see his family since his return to the Pacific Northwest. And he had no plans to visit even though they knew that he was here. His father and twin sisters had been the only people to be able to read him like a book, and he had no desires for them to know or guess at what events had taken place to make him king.

Jacob motioned toward Theresa to join him. "Nessie, will you stay with Lydia while I speak with her mother. It's okay, Theresa," he soothed when the female looked worriedly over her shoulder. "She'll be fine."

Reluctantly, she went with him while Nessie asked Lydia to walk her around.

He walked toward the bonfire, Theresa following.

"My liege, again, I apologize. I know that you and your queen were busy."

Smiling a little, he turned toward her. "She was right, you know. You don't have to apologize for everything. And it's okay to ask questions. But I think that I should be apologizing to you."

She gasped, eyes widening. "Whatever for?"

Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he said, "I should have been more involved in your settling here, and I wasn't. You and your daughter had been through hell before coming here."

Reaching out, she touched his arm. But pulled back almost immediately with a sheepish look. He sighed in his mind, wishing that he could have that comfort, that peace. The wolf in him missed contact. He was king of the pack, but not part of the pack.

Theresa wrapped her arms around herself and faced the fire. "Don't be sorry. You're a king and are busy. I know that. And you have many wolves here which means that you don't really have time to see to us individually." Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at him. "We're grateful that you allowed us here. We feel safe." When she turned back to face the fire, he saw the flash of uncertainty in her eyes.

Stepping up next to her, he put an unsteady, comforting hand on her shoulder. He wasn't used to being comforting or touching other wolves. "Theresa, I promise you that Ness is not like your old alpha female. She's twenty years old and raised here with good people. I knew her mother back before I was infected. Good people. I promise. And I do believe that Lydia has found a new best friend."

"So young," she murmured, "to be thrown into our world."

"And I did the throwing. But so far, she's done remarkably well with everything. Even if it's only been three days."

"If I may, my king, how old were you?"

"Jacob. Call me Jacob when we're informal. Please. And I was eighteen."

Though Theresa was younger than Jacob, she turned to him with a motherly look of sympathy. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

He frowned. "For what?"

"Whatever you had to go through before you became king. It's a hard life for any dominant wolf, especially those rare wolves who are kind like you. There aren't very many kings who can boast generosity or compassion. Not like you can. You're a good man, and a good king."

_If only that were true_, he thought as he stared into the fire.

**RPOV**

Lydia was so excited to be escorting the queen around. She happily introduced Ren to everybody, including all the elders from the night before. Carina, Rajani, and Idalina were all mated to the elder males, Elan, Pierce, and Victor. Elan was their leader and mated to Carina. He was the one who had presided over the ceremony last night. Tall and regal but still fit, he looked more like a king than Jacob. But he insisted he could never pull off Jacob's job. He was more of a scholar than a fighter.

Pierce and Victor had agreed. Both of them looked like normal, middle-aged men. The three women kept giving her suggestive glances and smirks. No doubt about the mating. Ren could just imagine that they were dying for details. They were attractive females, even if they were older, and Jacob was a very attractive king. It made sense that any woman would want to know what kind of lover he was. The looks made Ren wonder if he'd ever lain with a female from his own pack. Had any of these women known his body, known what it felt like to have him inside them?

The thought bothered her. For some reason, she felt like raising her lip and baring her teeth. She was baffled. Jacob had only been in her life for under a week, her husband for less than twenty-four hours, and her lover for even less than that. The only thing she could think of that she was a naturally territorial person, which she would have never known because she'd never had a boyfriend before. Now, she had a husband. A very attractive husband. Ah, crap. Alpha female reactions much? Geez.

After the introductions to the elders, Lydia thankfully pulled her away into the woods. Ren followed, the girl's hand gripped tightly in hers.

But they didn't get far. The scantily clad female from the ceremony came out from behind a tree as if she'd been waiting for Ren. Beside Ren, Lydia squeaked, squeezing Ren's hand.

"Well, well," the woman said. "Jacob's little human."

"What do you want?" Ren demanded.

She shrugged. "To talk."

_Yeah, right._ "Lydia, go back to your mother."

They shared a look and Ren nodded. The girl took off, braids flying out behind her. Ren made sure she made it out of sight near the elders' cabin before turning back to the she-wolf.

She jumped to find the woman just in front of her. She was shorter than Ren and absolutely tiny. But Ren knew the female was older though she looked the same age as Ren's mother and an infected wolf. She glowed like a candle in a dark room.

Ren kicked up her chin. "Who are you?"

She smirked. "The name's Odette. I'm the alpha female."

"I've seen you before. You've been in the bookstore. What do you want?"

Odette stepped into her personal space. The amused expression left her face, replaced by threatening coldness. Her eyes bled to amber as she spoke. "You might be Jacob's little human, but I am the alpha female here. He and I will rule the pack. Your only job is to give him young."

Ren frowned and narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying?"

An evil grin curled her lips. "You conceive and bear his pups. He and I raise them to take over the pack. You're merely a breeding mare for the two of us. A surrogate, if you will."

Disgusted, Ren waved it off and turned to leave. "That's a lie. And you're sick."

Odette grabbed her arm and spun her around. "You really think he cares for you? He knows nothing about you. Nobody does, except that you reek of his scent. He bedded you only because the ceremony called for it. And because _I_ was the one who talked him into taking a mate. Only a female with favor could talk a king into something like that. And it's because we're to rule together, the children you bear ours to raise."

Ren ripped her arm away from the wolf, well aware that Odette allowed her to do so. "I don't know who you are or who you think you are, but my children will be _my_ and Jacob's children. You'll have to take them from me over my cold dead body."

Odette's hand whipped out to grip Ren's hair, yanking it. Growling, she snapped her growing fangs near Ren's throat. "It will be a pleasure. Make sure to give us two just in case the first doesn't work out."

"Bitch!" Ren spat despite her growing alarm.

"How kind of you to notice."

"Hey! Odette, let her go. Now." Ren recognized Mindy's voice even with the slight growl.

Snarling, Odette turned to Mindy. "You dare order me?"

Out of the corner of Ren's eye, she saw Mindy tense, fists balled up at her sides. "I'll challenge you if you force me. Now let my queen go."

Odette growled again.

Adair came out of the woods. "She may not be able to order you, but I can. Let Ren go."

Ren was growing increasingly nervous when Odette still didn't let her go. Instead, she tightened her hold on Ren's hair.

Prickling energy sizzled in the air, wrapping around them. Adair was growling low and loud. "I said let her go! Now!"

Roughly, Odette pulled Ren closer to her so they were face to face. "Remember what I said, little girl." Then the she-wolf tossed her away before stomping off.

Adair and Mindy crowded around her before she could blink.

"Are you okay?" Adair demanded.

Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath before facing him. She plastered on a small smile. "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you."

He gave her a look that said he knew she was dishing him bullshit. "What did she tell you?"

"She just told me that she'd never see me as queen. She's the alpha female." A lie, but no doubt something Odette had been thinking.

Adair growled again. "Don't look too much into it. She'll come around once you spend more time with the pack. You _are_ our queen. But as a dominant alpha she'll challenge you."

"Will it always be physical?"

He answered with his own question. "Do you know how to handle a weapon?"

Ren took a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "My uncle gave me a silver-bladed dagger. He taught me how to use it. I also know some basic hand-to-hand."

More respect crept into his eyes. "From now on, every time you leave the cabin, make sure you have that dagger. I'll have Zeke pick an enforcer to shadow you."

"Is that really necessary?"

"For now, yes. You're going to be challenged by others. Not physically like with Odette, not at first, but if things heat up, you'll want another wolf to step in. I suggest you tell Jacob about this. He'll want to know."

"Why? He's made it clear that he doesn't care about me. You were wrong about him, Adair."

Mindy and Adair shared a look.

Mindy stepped forward. "Look, you two may not be lovey-dovey, but he's made it clear that you're his mate. He made a vow before the pack to take care of you, to keep you safe." Then she got a look in her eyes and cracked her knuckles. "However, if you want me to challenge her, just say the word and it's done."

Ren was tempted but shook her head. "No. Something tells me that I need to deal with this myself or she's going to keep at it no matter if you best her."

Mindy nodded. The red streaks in her hair now looked like battle make-up. "Suit yourself. I'll go see what she's up to." After a head bow to Ren, she nodded to Adair before taking off.

Adair moved closer. "What really happened, my queen? And what were you saying about Jacob?"

Getting tired of people wanting to know her personal stuff, she glared up at him. "Listen, I know you're trying to help, but stop. Please. This is my personal business. And Jacob's. I shouldn't have brought him up. He and I will work it out."

For a long moment, he just stared at her before going into his own bow. "I apologize, your grace. It was not my place."

Now a sense of weariness fell over her. Sighing, she said, "Just get me back to Jacob without anything else happening and we'll be fine."

He hurried to obey.

* * *

Later that night, Ren lay on her side, facing away from Jacob. They'd had dinner and gone to get the cookies from Lydia. Jacob had loved the cookies as evidenced by the fact that there were only a few left. After dessert, they'd separated. Jacob had gone to his office and she'd settled into her room with her music up and a book in her hands. But no matter what, Ren hadn't been able to concentrate on the words. Instead, Odette's voice kept rushing over every thought.

Now, as she lay in bed, the voice fired up again. Jacob hadn't pushed for more sex, maybe sensing that she wasn't in the mood. A nervousness had started to gnaw at her gut. Ren didn't actually know Jacob. How could she discard what Odette had said? She'd never seen the king and the she-wolf together or interact in any way, which come to think of it, could be seen as odd. She was the alpha female. Shouldn't they be talking every now and then, collaborating? Maybe they kept their "thing" under wraps because it wasn't a norm for two wolves to be mates. It was actually a very bad idea. So…could she be a "breeding mare" for the two of them? Was she to be a puppet, queen only in name while Odette ruled behind the curtain?

Behind her, the bathroom door opened. The bed moved as Jacob slid under the covers. She felt his fingers skimmed her bare back, and couldn't help the flinch or the tensing of her muscles.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a deep voice.

She took a deep breath. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

He moved closer. "Because you've been quiet all night, since we got back to the cabin before dinner."

She smirked despite her mood. "What are you saying, that a woman can't be quiet for that long without something being wrong?"

His chuckle was warm against the back of her neck. "For most women…"

"I'm not most women."

A warm, heavy arm snaked over her hips under the blankets and pulled her flush against his body, which was ready for some nefarious play. Again, despite her mood, she shivered at the feel of his heavy erection against her ass.

His lips pressed to her shoulder. "I'm aware you're not most women. Call it instinct. Something's wrong."

Yet again, he surprised her with his mood. Calm and warm, he was so different than he had been that morning. It was like every morning he woke up determined to push her away, but then by the end of the day had found it too grueling a project. Rolling over in his arms, she rested on her back and looked up at him. Ever since his formal introduction with Lydia, he'd been softer, quicker to smile. Maybe he truly wasn't that far gone into monsterhood.

So she decided to mention the incident. "I may have had a run-in with Odette in the woods."

His brows pulled down into a fierce frown, the gentleness fading. "What happened? Did she threaten you?" Instantly, his hands started roaming her body. Not sexually, but as if he feared that the other wolf had hurt her. "Did she hurt you?"

Thrown by his reaction, Ren stilled his hands on her body. "No. She didn't hurt me. But she made it clear that I wasn't her queen." With his fangs bared, she teetered on believing Odette and telling Jacob everything. Stroking his arms to try to calm him down, she said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

This softer, more protective Jacob was one she could really learn to love. "If we had children, who…who would raise them?"

His frown deepened. "What are you talking about? _We_ would."

"And who's 'we'?"

His expression turned bewildered. "You and me, Ness. We're their parents. Why are you asking me this?"

She shrugged the best she could in his ever tightening grip. "No reason. Just curious."

"Liar. What did she say to you?" When Ren wouldn't meet his eyes, she could tell that he was piecing everything together by her odd questions. "Did she threaten to take our kids from us?" he snarled.

Sensing a rage outburst, she hurriedly stroked her hands over his neck and jaw. "Not us. Just me. She called me a breeding mare, saying that she and you were going to rule the pack together and raise the child or children. She made it sound like you two have a thing, and that the mating is a front to hide it, saying that she's the one who talked you into taking a mate."

Jacob snarled again, his expression fierce. "That stupid bitch," he spat, echoing her from earlier.

And now Ren had her answer. Odette was full of shit. Jacob was well and truly hers. She almost smiled but didn't when Jacob pulled away from her to get out of the bed. He paced naked around the room, rotating his neck and flexing his hands into and out of fists.

Ren sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. As Jacob glanced at her every now and then, she wondered if he was going to tell her something.

"Jacob?" she asked.

He ran a hand though his black hair. "Ness, I do what I can to still be king and appease my people. Odette made a good argument as to why I should take a mate. My pack feels safe here. If I were take a female from here as a mate, it would cement us here, create a bond. Other wolves have taken human mates, which is great. But it would be a better sign of us staying if the king were to do it. Odette convinced the pack of this. They wanted me mated and to have an heir even though I don't think I should even be having kids. You saw me today with Lydia."

Hugging her knees to her chest, Ren rested her chin on them and smiled a little. "I saw how good you are with her. Jacob, I know it's a sore subject, but why _do_ you avoid the pack? They're your people."

He shot her a glare. "That's not what we're discussing. We're talking about Odette and the children."

She must have surprised him when she said okay because his eyebrows rose in surprise. No need to poke the bear when he was already pissed. So she decided to let it go. Maybe one day he'd open up to her. Already they were making progress.

"You want to know what I saw today from you?" she asked.

"What?"

"Humanity. Charm. You were great with her. Every little girl likes to know that she's important. And you're the main male in her life, Jacob. It was wonderful to see. I have no fears that you'd be a great father."

He studied her as if he thought she was lying. "Really?"

She nodded, her hair sliding over her shoulders. "Really. Within the space of two seconds you both went from uncomfortable to grinning at each other. You being the father of our children isn't what concerns me."

Coming around the bed, he sat down on the edge at her feet. He picked up one of her curls and twirled it between his fingers. "Then what does concern you?"

Ren swallowed hard and wouldn't meet his eyes. "That Odette was right and you'd take them away from me," she whispered.

With a low trickle of a growl, he put a finger under her chin to lift her eyes to his. "Ness, there is nothing going on between me and Odette. There never has been and never will be. I made a vow to be true to you and only you. From now until the end, I will not know another woman's body. And our children? _Ours_, mine and yours. I would never take a child away from its mother. Never, Ness. Do you hear me? We may have our problems, but I don't hate you. I know I've been a bastard, and I know this has been hard on you. There's so much about living here that you don't understand. I'll deal with Odette-,"

"No," Ren interrupted. At his look she amended herself. "Adair and Mindy got her away from me. Adair is arranging for Zeke to have another enforcer shadow me. And he told me to start carrying my silver-bladed dagger. I know how to use it. If I'm to truly be queen, then I need to learn how to deal with this. If other human queens did, then so can I. Please. If you intervene, then she'll just get worse."

"I don't like it."

"I know. You're used to doing things as soon as you think of doing them. I get it. But now you have a queen whether you wanted one or not. Please let me deal with it. If I can't handle it, I'll go straight to you or Adair. I promise."

"That's not why I don't like it."

She frowned.

"You're my mate, Ness. And the wolf inside me recognizes that. Anyone who hurts you, he wants to see their blood run."

Again, she was flabbergasted by his reaction.

"But are you asking me?" he continued. One of his hands had moved to rub over her calf still covered by the sheet.

She nodded. "You're the king. You'll end up doing what you want, so yes, I'm asking."

He took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll give you some leeway."

Smiling, Ren reached out to rub her hand up his muscular arm. "Thank you." Was he truly trying for her? That mixed with his obvious protectiveness had her body warming for him. The heat of his hand through the sheet was now more than just comforting.

Reaching further up, she rubbed her hand over the nape of his neck. When he looked at her, she rose to her knees, letting the sheet fall where it may. His dark eyes went to her breasts, hand to her hip. Moving around, still gripping his neck, she moved to straddle his thighs. He watched her silently in surprise. His shaft was hard between her legs, pulsing at her sex. Ren reached between them to lift up and position him at her entrance. His breath rushed out as she sank onto him inch by inch. It was slow work seeing as how he was huge and she wasn't as wet as she'd been the night before. And he let her go at her own pace, fingers digging into her hips. Her head went back when she felt him hit the end of her. He was seated so deeply inside her that she felt him pulse and jerk. His lips went to her neck as she rotated her hips over him, trying to make more room. One of his hands skimmed down to grip her ass, following her movements.

"So tight," he whispered against her collarbone. "God…squeeze me."

She did, clenching her body. He groaned and then fell upon her breasts in a manner of a starving man, licking and sucking. While his mouth was on one, his hand was on the other, rolling and pinching her nipple. Her own hands gripped his shoulders and then roamed them and his back, reveling in his strength. His powerful arms bunched and corded as he held her while she rode him.

Where her boldness had come from, she didn't know. But what she did know was that this man was hers. If he was to get sex, it would be from her. Could only be from her. And he had just made her feel important for the first time since she'd come here. That deserved some sort of reward. Maybe that was how she could learn to navigate him. Reward him with sexual pleasure when he did or said something that pleased her.

Under her, he somehow managed to thrust up. "Jacob," she gasped.

"I knew you wanted to ride my cock again. And I told you that this would happen, didn't I? Earlier today."

Taking her lips with his, he started to lean back, thrusting more and more as he gained leverage. Soon, he lying on his back with her on top of him. Both of his hands gripped her hips and kept her still while he plunged into her over and over. She broke the kiss to yell out.

"Take it, Ness. Take it all." He gave a particularly vicious thrust that had her bucking up off his chest. "That's it, female. Tell me how you want it."

With a renewed ferocity, she rode him harder, faster. Leaning back, Ren put her hands on his knees and fucked him. His now amber eyes watched where they were joined, clear hunger on his face. She knew he wanted to taste her again. That had been one of his favorite things to do to her the night before. He liked the taste of her after he'd come inside her. Apparently, their mixture of salty and sweet was like a fine wine for him.

On top of him, she could feel his cock jerk more and more inside her. Her own body rushing to catch up with him.

"Almost," she whispered. "So close, Jacob."

He reached down to thumb her clit.

"Fuck!" she yelled, already used to thinking that kind of language around him. He'd liked her yells the night before, always rewarding her. He did this time too with another deliciously deep thrust.

And she broke. Gripping his thighs, tearing them up with her nails, she screamed her pleasure to the ceiling. Shoving herself onto him so that he was buried all the way, she felt her body clutch him, milk for the seed ready to blow in his shaft. After one deliberate squeeze on her part, he yelled out, his come pulsing inside her, hot and thick.

When she was done writhing, she went to collapse back on his legs, but didn't get the chance. Gripping her ass, he lifted her up off of him. They both hissed when his semi-erect cock slid out of her. Before she fell back, his hands moved up to the middle of her back, holding her up. It took a moment of muddling through the post-orgasmic haze to realize he was moving her hips toward his face.

He was going to have his wine now.

When he set his tongue and lips to her sensitive flesh, she yelled out again and writhed over him. Sitting up, she reached down to spear her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. He fed at her the way he had at her breasts, lapping up everything her body had to give out. He wouldn't get everything because he'd come so deep inside her. She'd wake up in the morning to her thighs coated in his orgasm, which was okay with her.

Again, she was quickly approaching her orgasm, her gut clenching as he fed at her. Like she'd done with his shaft, she rode her hips over his tongue. One of his hands left her back, that arm moving. He was stroking himself as he pleasured her.

The image sent her over the edge. This time, she was careful with her nails, but ground her hips to his mouth. Her moans brought out his growl and a moment later, she felt a couple hot jets hit her ass while his one hand held her up in the center of her back. His chest strained underneath her and she could feel his hips moving.

When he was done spending, Jacob gently rolled over to lay her back down where she'd started off. He lay on his side, one of her legs under his waist and the other over his hip.

"Well," she gasped. "I think we found our middle ground. Your tongue is ridiculously sinful."

He chuckled with dark masculinity. "What would you say if I told you I'd never done that to a woman before you?"

"I'd call you a liar."

"Then you'd be wrong."

Somehow, she managed to open her eyes and look down at him. His hair was sexily mussed, amber eyes glinting with deep satisfaction. His come coated his lower chest and stomach, sliding over his skin to drip onto the sheets. A thrill of possessiveness shot through her. He'd come for her and her alone.

Sensuously, she rubbed her foot up and down his side. "You've really never done that with another woman? Never kissed her anywhere besides her mouth?"

He shook his head, running his fingers over her thighs all the way up to her sensitive inner thighs. "No, never."

Her voice was breathy when she asked, "Then why me?"

His eyes grew dark with lust. "Your scent, our scents mixed together, call to me. It's irresistible. I have to put my mouth on you." He moved to crawl up her body and gave her one last slow lick between her thighs, making her groan, before he laid out beside her.

She rolled to her side to look up at him. "Have you ever had a woman's mouth on you?"

Again, he shook his head.

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? A man with your experience has never had that? Surely, you'd have women lining up just to taste you."

"I turned them all away. It never appealed to me."

"And what about me?" she asked, looking up at him from under her lashes.

His breath shuddered out as his amber eyes darted down to her lips. Ren looked down his body to see him hardening again. She found herself wanting to be the first woman to give him this even though she had no idea what she was doing. Hell, she didn't know what she was doing when they had sex, but apparently she was doing something right because he always orgasmed multiple times.

"I see," she muttered, reaching for him.

Surprisingly, he gripped her wrist. "Not tonight."

She frowned. "But you-,"

"I'll be fine. And you're exhausted."

She _was_ pretty tired after being introduced to over two hundred wolves in less than a day. Her belly was still full from dinner and cookies. And her body was pleasantly sated, having worked off some of the carbs from the meal. She nodded against the pillow, letting her eyes droop. Jacob reached around to pull up the sheets and blankets.

He didn't pull her into his arms or touch her again. Instead, he rolled over to his side onto his back and stared at the ceiling with a hand tucked up behind his head. She watched him with heavy-lidded eyes. What was he thinking? Was he going to be cold and stoic tomorrow morning the way he'd been today?

Honestly, she was too damn tired to care. She'd deal with him tomorrow. There had to be some way to reach him. Nobody was too far gone to be pulled back. He cared just enough to respect her in human ways regarding their relationship and kids. Though he cared nothing for her, he'd acknowledged his vows. How could a monster be that compassionate? Answer was, he couldn't. Jacob was salvageable.

Ren just had to figure out how to get to him. And just before she fell asleep, she made her own vow to do just that.

**JPOV**

A week had passed since his mating to Ness. After their shared moment that second night, things had gotten easier. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be indifferent toward her that next morning. It didn't seem right after she'd initiated the intimacy. And he knew it was going to be a slippery slope from there.

When they weren't out among the pack, they were in the cabin. After routine morning sex and then breakfast, Jacob would go to his office and Ness would work around the house or go into her room to read. Most days, sitting at his desk, he'd zone out, thinking about her in their bed. Her skin painted in early morning sunlight or silvery moonlight. That woman was addictive. Cursing, he'd stomp out of his office and seek her out. She received him every time, no matter where she was. She hadn't yet sought him out, probably not wanting to bother him. It wasn't bragging on his part yet to think the she didn't want him because every time he found her, she'd look up at him as if she'd just been thinking about _him_ in bed. He'd set upon her ravenously and she'd hungrily taken everything he'd had to give her.

Shaking himself now, he picked up the bill in front of him and tried to focus. Though he wasn't great at taking care of bills and money, he forced himself to so that he wouldn't have to dump the responsibility on someone else even though there were a few wolves who'd be willing and happy to do it.

Jacob managed to get a few of the bills done and everything balanced. He snorted. They had enough money to support the entire country. But this day and age, things were cheaper than they had been in the economic decline. Not to mention this pack was extremely old, one of the oldest original packs. There was a lot of money to balance.

The bills weren't the main issues of the king of a pack. There was a pile of requests from both his pack and other surrounding packs. Mating arrangements, transfers, and requests to get jobs in the towns. Sometimes Jacob cursed himself for making the pack go to paper requests instead of being able to just knock on his door. But he hated being bothered. If he was home, he wanted to feel like he was at home instead of work. Except, he was the king. Kings always worked. Maybe Ness and Adair were right. Maybe he should start interacting more. He hated that they looked at him with fear when he was out and about. They knew what he'd done to get into this position.

But wait. What the hell was he thinking? Jacob needed to remind himself what happened to him all those years ago. Being nice and warm toward a wolf had gotten him nothing more than being a sacrifice to a king by a pretty she-wolf. Gemma had royally fucked him over.

He sighed over a request for him to come anoint a pup to be born within the next week or so when the door across the room opened. Nessie poked her head in.

Jacob shook his head. "Whatever it is, I can't right now. I need to get through this pile."

A stubborn look he was beginning to learn set into her eyes and jaw as she sauntered into the room. "Good thing I'm to be quick, then."

He raised his eyebrows as she rounded the desk. Going behind him, she set her small hands to his shoulders. And knew exactly where to put them. He groaned as she kneaded his shoulders and arms.

After a few minutes, she rolled his chair back and turned him around before kneeling between his legs.

"What are you doing?" he asked, breath a little shaky.

Ness reached for the button on his jeans. "For nearly two weeks, you always seem to know when I'm burning for release, finding me and taking me. And I've realized that there's something that you still haven't gotten from me. Something in which you're still a virgin. And that just doesn't sit right with me."

Down went the zipper.

He'd avoided asking her for this. She was finally acclimating, getting to know the pack. Zeke had put Cris as her shadow, and so far, Odette had backed off. More than anything, Jacob had wanted to pulverize her for what she'd told Ness. But he managed to keep his promise to let Ness handle it.

But every time he looked at her lips, he imagined them wrapped around his aching shaft. Watching her eat was the sweetest torture. Ever since he'd admitted to her that he'd never had this done, he'd been helpless to keep from thinking about it.

Jacob hissed when her fingers wrapped around him to pull his cock out. He'd been hard the moment he'd seen her hips swaying in his direction. The wolf in him knew she was his and so did the possessive man he'd been before being infected. He was married to her by wolf laws, but even what was left of his human self saw the ceremony as binding. His body reacted to his wife.

She gave him a few good, tight strokes before leaning in. Her eyes on his, she darted her tongue out to lick the already slick head. His shout echoed in the room and he thought he'd come right there. But then he felt something even more amazing when she sucked the entire crown between her lips. His shaft was so thick that she couldn't touch her thumb and middle finger around him, but her jaw widened over him, her cheeks hollowing out as she sucked him down. Closing her eyes, she moaned around him.

Coming up for air, she gasped, "You taste good. Salty and thick."

God…damn. She licked the slit at the head where a pearl of moisture beaded. She savored the taste, closing her eyes.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Wrapping his fists in her hair, he nudged her head toward him. "God, Ness. Please. Stop teasing."

Her eyebrows rose at his begging, but he couldn't help it. He desperately wanted her mouth on him. Her grin was pure satisfaction before she opened her mouth and sucked him down. His body bucked involuntarily, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

Ness used both hands and her mouth on him. She'd never done this before, but damn if he didn't want to call her a liar about that. She stroked him so good, tongue and teeth skimming over him expertly. Letting his head fall against the back of the chair, he closed his eyes and concentrated, gripping her head while she bobbed. His groans and grunts were sharp and tense as his cock filled to the brim with his seed.

She must have sensed he was close because she pulled back just long enough to pull her shirt over her head. Her bra was a red push-up number. It had him panting watching her creamy, generous breasts pump up and down with her breaths. Her mouth was tight and hot, just like her core when he was inside her. No matter how many times or how much he stretched her, she was always deliciously tight.

While she kept sucking on him, he couldn't help but reach down, fingers dipping into her bra to roll her tight nipple. She groaned around him, the vibrations causing his body to spasm, balls going tight.

"So close, Ness. Keep going, baby."

Taking a deep breath, she removed her hands and took him all the way in until her lips met his body.

He growled. "Son of a bitch."

Jacob just barely kept from bucking up.

When she came up for air, breasts heaving, he reached down to grip her hand around his cock and pumped himself the rest of the way off using her hand. His balls tightened painfully just before his come shot out in hot jets. He yelled as those jets landed on her breasts and neck. He grunted until he was done spending, then sat back, panting.

Ness peeled their hands away from him, knowing that he would be sensitive. While he caught his breath, Ness cleaned the both of them up with her shirt, carefully maneuvering around his sensitivity. Gently, she tucked him back into his jeans and buttoned them back up. Done with that, Ness stood up and went for the door.

"Where are you going?" he panted.

Her grin over her shoulder was all feminine satisfaction. "To fix lunch. Gotta make sure you're fed. You tend not to eat unless I make you. You can return the favor for this little interlude tonight."

And then she was gone. Body loose and satisfied, Jacob cleared his throat and bent back over his desk. How had she known that he needed just what she'd given him?

Before she came back to grab him for food, he actually managed to get through a couple dozen of the requests, his mind oddly cleared.

As they ate the chicken scampi and garlic bread, Ness asked him about all the work he'd been doing.

"So what is all that stuff?"

"Requests mostly. Mainly from our pack."

"Requests?"

He nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Yeah, you know like wanting to go find a job in the town or an acknowledgement of a mating. Or a transfer. Once word gets out that I've mated, things should start coming in for you. It'll take a little longer since we have the wall separating us from the rest of the world."

Her eyes widened. "Me? What would I be getting?"

"Gifts. From other queens. Also early betrothal proposals for any future kids of ours."

Ness frowned, slowly chewing her food, thinking about what he'd just said. Jacob sat there and smiled. No doubt she was mulling over that last one thinking _oh hell no_. The same as he was. Done with her food, she put her napkin beside her plate and put her elbows on the table. Clearing her throat, she rested her chin on clasped hands.

"Betrothal proposals? Seriously?"

Jacob nodded grinning around the neck of his beer bottle.

"So like, claiming a stake on our first born son and daughter?"

"Pretty much. Any kids we have really. If I were to accept any of them and say we only have one son and one daughter, then I'd have to fulfill the proposal's void with something else that the other pack might want from me."

"Such as?"

He shrugged. "Any sort of favor. Shelter behind the wall. An alliance in case of war. Immediate transfers. Things like that."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you considering any of them?"

"Absolutely not. Don't you worry about that." Jacob reached across the table to grip her wrist. "I promise you that anything that concerns our children we'll deal with together. Everything."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Thank you. What else do you do?"

"Attempt to take care of bills."

"Attempt?"

"I'm not great at it, but so far so good."

She shrugged. "I can do it. I did the bills at the bookstore. That way you could spend more time on pack things. Let me take care of the mundane crap."

Again, she surprised him. "Really?"

"Why not?" Getting up, she took their plates to the kitchen and started cleaning up. "It would give me something useful to do. Right now, I'm feeling like I'm mooching. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to have so much time to read. But also, I need something to do."

Jacob got up to help her pile the dishes into the dishwasher. "If you feel confident that you can, I'll go over everything with you tomorrow."

Her grin up at him was soft and beautiful. "Great."

They were in a groove, but it was disrupted with a hasty knock on the door. Frowning, Jacob found Adair on the other side looking out of breath and a little panicked.

"What's wrong?"

"Sadie," he panted. "She's gone into labor."

Sadie was the name of the female who'd sent the request for the anointing next week.

"I thought she wasn't due for another week."

"She's not. Something happened to trigger the labor. But that's not the problem. Doc says the baby's fine."

"But-?"

Adair was about to answer when Ness appeared beside Jacob. "What's going on?"

Adair ignored her. "Jake, Doc says Sadie may not make it. She and Bryce want you there for the birth to anoint the child before she succumbs."

Nessie's hand went to her mouth as she looked up at Jacob. "You have to go."

Now Adair looked to her. "Sadie wants you there, too."

Jacob shared a look with Ness and nodded. Taking her hand, he pulled her out of the cabin and closed the door behind them. The three of them rushed to the medical cabin. A loud, ragged scream welcomed them into the building. Immediately, Ness moved to the side of the bed. Nessie stroked Sadie's sweat-soaked hair back, taking a rag to wipe her forehead. Bryce was on the other side of the bed, letting Sadie dig her nails into his hands. The male looked up to meet eyes with Jacob. They were devastated. Sadie was human. Unfortunately, it was common for human females to die on the birthing table delivering the pup of a wolf. Something about the quick gestation period of wolves sent the humans into shock. She-wolves giving birth lived nine times out of ten.

Jacob grabbed a nurse. "Talk to me."

It was clear she didn't like being stopped, but the one to stop her was the king so she made time. She sighed. "Her vitals are everywhere. More than likely we'll have to perform a C-section. The child is ready to come out but she can't push."

"Do what you have to, do you understand?"

For a moment, she looked confused by his actions. Jacob cared for his people, but from a distance. He never showed emotion around them. The fact that he was now mated to a human female who'd agreed to bear his young forced him to watch this play out. Just because he didn't love Ness didn't mean that he wanted her to die giving birth to his child or children.

The nurse's eyes flickered from the doctor and Sadie before she nodded. "Of course."

Jacob went to stand beside Ness. Sadie looked up at him as though surprised he was there. She was a beautiful young woman with brown hair and deep green eyes. He tried to smile reassuringly. Feebly, she reached out a dainty hand to him. Completely flabbergasted, he took it, his larger hand swallowing hers.

It ended up that they did have to perform a C-section. Jacob, Bryce, and Nessie never left her side as her son was brought into the world and the pack. It was touch and go once the baby was out. Her vitals plummeted, skin going pale. At the same time the doctor was sewing her up, they fell on her, making her breathe, getting her heart to beat again.

Through the oxygen mask she managed to say, "Do it, please. Anoint him."

Bryce leaned over her. "Shh, sweetie. Don't talk, just rest. He needs his mother. Please."

A moment later, the doctor handed Jacob the baby. Standing so Sadie could see him, Jacob used some water from a nearby glass to trace the pack's symbol over the boy's forehead and said the ceremonial words welcoming the pup into the pack. Sadie sighed and smiled, laying back on the bed. Nessie kept petting her hair. When Jacob was done, he handed the baby to his father. Bryce gently held his son, looking down at him with infinite love, before laying him across Sadie's chest.

This day was so full of shocks that Jacob just accepted that the scene affected him. His chest ached just a little, gut clenching in hopes that the child would keep his mother.

"I don't believe it," the nurse said from beside Jacob.

"What?" he asked.

She motioned toward all the monitors. "She's leveling out. We were sure that she wouldn't make it."

Nessie joined them. "A mother's need to protect her child, I guess." Jacob looked over at her. Her voice held a note of sadness almost as if she knew from experience. He made a note to ask her about it later.

The three of them watched the new family.

Bryce looked up with a tear-stained face having heard the nurse say Sadie was going to be okay. "Thank you," he whispered.

Sadie met Jacob's eyes.

And he remembered what had pushed him to become king.

* * *

A little later, after making sure that both the baby and Sadie were going to be okay, Jacob led Nessie outside only to find a large group of pack members standing around the building. A good number of them were females. They stood blinking up at him, clearly expecting an update.

He cleared his throat, a pit of nervousness in his gut. "As you've heard, Sadie went into labor a week early. I want you to rest assured that both mother and baby are doing just fine." I sigh of relief went through the group. "There was a time when Doc didn't think she'd make it, but she did. Sadie and her son are resting for now. I want them to have a couple days before she has visitors. They need time to recoup. I ask that you give them that."

Adair came out behind them. "Doc says at least three days."

Jacob nodded. "Three days. If you truly want to help them, I'm sure they wouldn't mind having their home prepared for their release. Sadie would greatly appreciate it. And I know I would."

The women started to mutter and break up into groups. No doubt they were all assigning themselves something to do. Beside him, Nessie squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "Shall we go home?"

He nodded. Together, they walked hand in hand. Slowly, they made their way through groups of the pack, stopping for small chit-chat. Jacob had just gone over some of their requests so he spoke to them about it in detail so that he knew if he'd made the right decision. Nessie chatted with a lot of the females already familiar with a lot of the ones who lived around them. With over two hundred wolves, not everyone could live near each other. Some preferred the secluded cabins in the woods. It was like a small village. Even trading happened. Some homes were better at producing one thing while others better at another. They'd trade their hobbies.

But Jacob knew that both he and Ness still had their minds on what had just happened, what they'd witnessed. Jacob had never actually seen a child being born before. It was a new experience for him. One he wasn't going to forget any time soon. As well as Sadie's relief at his presence. He hadn't known that he truly meant that much to these people, not in such a personal way. And then, she'd also wanted Nessie there, her queen. That spoke volumes to Jacob. They really liked her.

Eventually they made it back to the quiet of their cabin. Ness went back into the kitchen, but instead of doing anything, she put her hands on the counter and leaned into them. "Well, that was…intense."

Jacob only nodded.

"Is…is that normal?"

He could hear the fear in her voice. But he didn't want to lie to her. "More normal than you might think. Human females giving birth to pups have a higher death rate than she-wolves."

She let out a shaky breath. "Why?"

"Something about the quickness of the gestation period. Pack females give birth anywhere from two months to four months after fertilization."

Her chocolate eyes widened. "That's it? Then the body must go into shock. That's what it was."

"Probably." The look on her face tugging at him, he couldn't help but walk over to her and rub his fingers over the nape of her neck. "Listen to me, Ness, you're strong. You'd make it. I know you would."

She looked up at him. "You really believe that?"

"I do. It's not just strength of body. It's also strength of will, and you have that in spades." He put his finger under her chin. "It's one of the reasons I picked you. I could see it in your eyes."

She didn't answer him, just continued to stare off.

He took her hand and pulled her away from the counter. "Come on. I'll show you the bills, maybe even some of the requests so you know what I have to consider before answering. It'll help take your mind off of everything else."

Managing a weak smile, she followed him upstairs to the office. He didn't think he could ever look at that damn chair without getting hard from remembering her wicked mouth on him. But he sat down and pulled her into his lap. Arms around her body, he moved around, showing her everything in paper and online so she'd know where to go as well as passwords.

"We'll buy you a laptop so we can each have our own settings. Until we can get our resident tech geek to sit down with you to find out your preferences, you can use this one."

She nodded while he turned to the large stacks of requests. "And now for the fun part," he said sarcastically.

Together, they sat there for hours going through everything. She was amazed at how many babies were coming due within the next week to month. It was fairly common, but with such a large pack it was the reason Jacob had decided to move back up here to the Pacific Northwest. There was tons of land up here that could be bought. And he had purchased a lot of it. The large river nearby cut through part of his territory. There were several running trails and meadows. It was good training area for the young growing up here.

"What's it like?" Ness asked.

"What's what like?"

"Being a wolf? I mean, you were human once. What's it like to wake up and realize you're something else? Can you feel the wolf inside you?"

Clearing his throat, he sat back. This wasn't something he liked to talk or even think about. But he decided to try. "It is different. As a human teenager, all I worried about was money and sex. Enough money to pay bills and sex just for the pleasure. After I was turned, it became a game of survival. Sex with alpha females to keep me safe until I learned the rules of the pack. Sex turned into the currency for me. Money didn't become important until after I learned how to fight to take care of myself. And then I became king. Sex was sex again. And money…well, this pack is very old. You saw the numbers. It's not really a worry for us right now."

Turning in his lap, she studied him with a sympathetic look. "That sounds terrible, what you had to go through."

His smile was wry. "Yeah well, that's just the overview. You don't want the details. Trust me."

Her brows pulled down into a small frown. "What if I do?"

He sighed. "Ness, don't. Please."

She studied his face before nodding. "Okay. Sorry for pushing."

Reaching up, Jacob brushed a curl from her cheek. "Since I told you something about me, will you answer something for me?"

"Sure."

"What did you mean in the medical cabin about a woman protecting her child? There was a look on your face like you were remembering something."

Not meeting his eyes, she looked down at the sleeve of her shirt, picking at the thread. "You know my mother, right?"

"I did, a little. Our dads' were good friends."

"Well, when she was pregnant with me, I…I almost killed her. She'd been told that a pregnancy was threatening to her life. She decided to keep me. That's probably where I get my strong will, huh?" She smiled fleetingly. "During labor, she bled profusely. Her vitals plummeted. When she told me the story, reluctantly mind you, she said that what brought her back was that she wasn't ready to leave me. There were so many things she wanted to do with me and for me that she refused to leave me. I never thought I'd see that kind of love in person. And now I learn that I might have to go through it myself. It's a lot to think about."

Watching her, he kept touching her hair, trying to give her comfort. He was a wolf who knew she needed comfort. "It wasn't your fault, Ness. She chose you over her own life. It was a sacrifice for you. There's no reason for you to feel guilty. You were a baby who couldn't make your own choices."

"I know. I just love her so much. It's hard to imagine my life without her."

Dammit. She plucked at his humanity. He'd told her that it would be a few months before he'd let her leave the territory to visit her family, but that was because he feared that she'd use his leniency to stay away from him and the pack. But over the past week, they'd found a happy medium now that he'd cooled his temper. Having her intimate in his life was still hard to handle, but it was sometimes nice to know that someone was there, just the presence could be comforting.

"Would you like to go see her?"

Shock widened her eyes. "Really? Like now?"

He shrugged, fingering a curl at her waist. "We could go tomorrow. I've showed you all the bills and stuff."

"We?"

"I am your husband now. Unless you want to go alone. Then Cris will have to take you."

Her overjoyed expression was worth it but also surprised. Probably because he'd given her a choice. Her answer likewise surprised him. "I want you to go with me. If you knew my mother, I'm sure she'd love to see you again."

"I don't know about 'love', but it might be nice to see her again. And Edward. Although, if I remember correctly, he didn't like me much."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Bella and I hung out sometimes. She was kind of a crush of mine."

Gasping, she leaned back and smiled at him. "You crushed on _my mother_?"

He chuckled. "Yeah well, she was fresh blood. She moved here her junior year. I knew most of the girls on the rez. Bella was the long lost police chief's daughter."

"Is your father still here?"

Another sore subject. "On the rez, yeah. With my sisters."

And he knew her next question. "Have you seen them since you've been back?"

"What does it matter?" he demanded, voice sharp.

Her expression closed. "They're your family, Jacob. They'd want to see you. And they know you're here."

In an instant, his irritation bubbled to the surface. He growled. "Drop it, Ness. It's my choice."

Letting out an irritated breath, she stood up. "Fine. Be a jerk about it, but the point is the same, Jacob. Family is family. They keep us sane. You're just being selfish even though I'm sure you have what you think are good reasons." Digging into her pocket, she took out her new cell phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"My mother to let her know we're coming tomorrow."

Reaching up, he snagged it from her hands.

"What the hell, Jake? Really?"

"We'll surprise them."

"Why?" And then her expression evened out. "Oh, I see. You think she'll tell my grandfather who will then tell your father." She threw her hands up. "Fine. Whatever. Keep it. I'm going to go make dinner."

And then she left. Growling, he slumped back in the chair. Dammit. She just didn't understand. Granted, he didn't tell her his reasons. Sitting there, he supposed her definition of a husband meant sharing stuff like that. Jacob wasn't used to being personal and sharing. He'd isolated himself, keeping his secrets, avoiding the uneasiness of the pack.

Rubbing his palms over his face and hair, he sat up and went back to work until she called him for dinner.

* * *

**Alright, alright. Yell at me for being gone so long. But I still love you. I'm going to try to at least update both stories once a week. Don't hold me to it, but I will try. Now, be sure to tell me what you think. I need your feedback to know what you need from me! Love y'all! xoxoxoxoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I know you've been waiting for this. However I do have a WARNING about this chapter. *It does contain a scene of rape.* Not too much detail, but enough that we all know what it is. I tried to find a way to cut it out, but there wasn't one. Sorry, guys.**

***Disclaimer***

**I'd say please enjoy like I usually do, but even I didn't like the end of this chapter. Everything else was great except the end.**

* * *

**RPOV**

The next morning, Ren rolled over with a sigh. Dinner had been tense and quiet. She didn't know that anyone could chew angrily, but Jacob had. Once they'd been done eating, they'd gone their separate ways. And he hadn't come to bed before she'd fallen asleep.

Looking over at him now, she wondered what possible reason he had not to go see his family. No doubt they were dying to see him. Could they be the same reasons he refused to be intimate with the pack?

Rolling over on her side, she watched him sleep. His face was turned toward the window where weak light filtered through. He was on his back, one arm flung across the pillows above her head. The other hand was resting on his chest.

Going up on her elbow, Ren gently moved his hand to look at the faint scar between his pecs. With a butterfly touch, she ran a fingertip over it.

Which woke him up.

He blinked sleepily down at her.

She pulled her hand back. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"S'alright," he mumbled, reaching for her hand.

"Where did you get that?"

While messing with her fingers, he said, "I got it from my fight to become king. The bastard tried to stab me. His claw went too deep for it to heal properly."

"Ouch," she whispered before leaning up and over to press her lips against it. For some reason, despite their lack of feelings for each other and the fight they'd had, she wanted to show him a bit of tenderness. Even a king needed a soft touch every now and then.

He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry about last night," she said, lips against his skin.

His eyes narrowed. "For what exactly?"

"Pushing about your family. It's just my nature. So, I understand that everybody has different ways of dealing with their family. I want to tell you something, but I don't want you to get angry."

"Tell me. Please."

She smiled at his asking. Another good step. "My parents pushed me to volunteer. And at the time, I was angry with them for it."

He frowned and she knew he was thinking. "So you _weren't _willing?"

Quickly, she draped her torso over his chest. "Yes, I am."

"But you weren't then."

"Grudgingly, yes, I was. I was terrified that you'd isolate me, be cruel to me. I didn't really know that you and my mother had known each other like that. If I had, I wouldn't have been so angry with her. You're nothing like I thought you'd be, so I feel much better now."

His jaw clenching wasn't a good sign. He carefully moved me to roll out of the bed.

"Jacob-,"

"No matter what, you still weren't willing."

Ren's jaw dropped. "But I was standing out there, wasn't I? I could have run off."

He glared down at her. "The only reason you stood out there was because your parents made you. So that makes me wonder why you're really here."

Shaking his head, he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. Ren heard the distinct sound of the lock sliding into place. Growling in frustration, she rolled out of bed on Jacob's side and grabbed one of her hair pins that was laying on his bedside table. It took a little bit to pick this lock because she was used to only having to work with the lock at the book store. But eventually she got it.

Swinging the door opened, she marched right in, stepping into the shower with him.

He growled when he saw her. "I locked that for a reason."

She put her hands on her hips. "Uh huh. And?"

He glowered. "I didn't know you could pick locks."

"Having locked myself out of the shop a few times, I learned."

"What do you want?" he demanded.

She let him finish washing the shampoo out of his hair before strutting up to him, going up on her toes, and grabbing the back of his neck to pull him down to her. On reflex, he gripped her hips.

"Shut up and listen to me," she said. His eyebrows met his hairline, but he didn't say anything. "That night, I was forced out there by my parents, true. But I'm glad I was. You'd have ended up with a slut or a woman terrified of you. Being here, it's become clear to me that you and the pack need an actual queen. And I am going to do my damnedest to be that queen. So yes, I'm here willingly. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have mated you in that ceremony." She lifted her hand to his face. "You see these burns? I went through that _for you_. So don't you dare go all high and mighty on me. You only mated me because you wanted to please the pack. So get over yourself."

With that, she pushed away from him and went to walk out of the shower. She didn't get far. A vicious growl echoed against the tile before an arm around her waist hauled her back. She yelped, her hands reaching out to squeal against the tile. With nothing to grab onto, she had no choice but to let Jacob set her on her feet under the water.

She glared up at him. "You arrogant asshole. You can't just manhandle me like that."

"Shut up and stand there," he growled while reaching for her shampoo.

"Really? I yell at you and you're just going to wash my hair?"

His now amber eyes shot me a look. "Would you rather I throw you under me and fuck you until you can't walk?"

A shiver rushed over her skin at his intensity. A quick glance down told her that he was ready to deliver when and if she gave the go ahead. Her breathing became unsteady, body tight and itchy.

A dark chuckle came out of his mouth. "Oh yes. That is what you want." He moved closer to her so that her breasts brushed over his chest, his erection pressed to her belly. "All you have to do is say the word and we'll put off the parent trip."

She let out a shaky breath, but met his gaze and said, "It's not all about sex, Jacob."

He lifted the corner of his mouth in a smirk. "It is when there's nothing else between two people. It's called fuck buddies."

Ren flinched. "Well thanks for calling me a slut, I guess." She tilted her head to scrub the shampoo into her hair.

When she leaned back up, Jacob was glaring at her.

"What?"

"I did not call you a slut."

"Close enough."

He stepped closer to her. "Is that what you think I think of you? A slut?" When she didn't answer, he gripped her burned hand with his. "If all you were going to be to me is a bed warmer, I wouldn't have gone through that ceremony. I picked you because my people need a strong female to look to. I saw you holding hands with the girl next to you. She was terrified. That's why you stood out there, isn't it? To protect those weaker than yourself. That quality is what makes a queen. I've always known I didn't want a mate, but figured the time would come. And when it did, I knew I'd go all in, taking a mate who would be strong. I don't regret picking you despite the fact that we're at each other's throats. And any children we have will grow up strong."

Ren didn't know what to say except, "I thought alpha couples fought and fucked?"

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "That we do. When will you get that I don't hate you, Ness? I don't love you. And you don't love me. That's just how it is with us. But I have to say…we fuck like champions. The best sex I've ever had. But you're not a slut, Ness. You were a virgin before I got my hands on you. Unless you lied about that."

She shook her head.

"Okay then, you're not a loose woman. I get that. This is an exclusive, sexual relationship. Just you and just me." He ran a hand through his wet hair. "Look, I know I can be a crude bastard with the 'fuck buddies' and all that, but that's just how I am. I don't censor myself. So don't take it too personal, alright? It's nothing against you."

Studying him, Ren considered his words while she stepped around him and wrung out her hair. They were pretty spectacular at sex. Every time it was mentioned or she thought about him inside her, her body warmed, priming for him. Even now, she wanted him. God, would this ever end? The constant wanting? Of course, she was twenty years old. Sex was brand spanking new for her, and she loved the feeling or euphoria the release gave her.

Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she held her hand out to him, confident that they could be quick.

He frowned.

She lifted her eyebrows and wiggled her fingers.

Narrowing his gaze, Jacob reached back to turn off the water before taking her hand. Grinning wickedly, she led him back into the bedroom. When they reached the end of the bed, Ren leaned down, resting her chest and stomach on the mattress and spread her legs, planting her feet on the carpet.

His breath went in sharply as she looked over her shoulder at him. It came out on a growl.

"If I'm a slut," she said, "at least I'm the king's."

A heavy, sexual light shined in his eyes as he moved toward her. Good. He wasn't going to be gentle.

#######

Needless to say, they both needed another shower by the time they managed to roll out of bed around lunch time. And the sheets definitely needed to be changed.

Ren's hips ached as she moved toward the shower, Jacob right behind her. Thankfully they were both sated enough that it would just be a normal shower.

In record time, they were both squeaky clean, even his orgasms inside her had washed out. She only hoped that was all of it. That would be embarrassing.

Both of them were calmer, in civilized moods as they dressed and left the cabin. He even reached for her hand as they walked through the village toward the main road. Cris had fallen in behind them, a broad silent shadow.

"So how do you think seeing my mom again is gonna go for you?" she asked.

He smirked. "I think it's your dad I gotta worry about."

She considered it, tilting her head back and forth. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He wasn't all that happy with how you were looking at me, that's for sure."

He chuckled darkly. "Well how could I not? You're easily the most beautiful female I've ever seen."

Shocked, she looked up at him. "I…thank you."

He squeezed her hand. "You're welcome."

As they walked, she studied him, trying to figure his moods. It was impossible. She'd thought they'd been doing good last night when he'd snapped about his family. And then this morning when she'd told him about her willingness. Honestly, she didn't know why she'd told him. It hadn't been in her plans. She guessed it was because he was honest with her for the most part. Especially about the mating. He'd admitted that he wasn't willing either. She could do the same. But after their morning interlude between showers, he was now easy-going, even smiling at her when she attempted humor.

Figuring she should just go with it, she giggled and shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

Grinning up at him, she said, "Nothing."

"Uh-huh," he muttered, surprisingly not pushing for an actual answer.

He was probably being nicer because he was about to re-meet her parents.

It took a good hour of walking before they made it to the turn-off, but it was a comfortable hour. Cris followed them the entire time, eyes scanning the woods, hands near whatever weapons he had.

The house was exactly as she remembered it a week ago. Painted white with black shutters. The wrap around porch needed a good sweeping. What else was new?

Letting go of Jacob's hand, Ren ran up the porch steps to ring the doorbell. Why was it that people felt the need to knock when they knew they were already welcome? But she knocked anyway. Jacob eased on a smile as he came to stand beside her.

"Not excited, are you?" he asked in a low voice.

"A little."

He frowned. "What, did they think I would kill you or something?"

She shrugged but didn't get out an answer before the door was being unlocked.

Her father opened the door. When she saw him, tears bubbled up and she threw her arms around him. It too him a moment to get over his surprise and hug her back, but he did. And tightly.

She felt his lips at her ear. "I've missed you."

Sniffling, she said, "It's only been a week, Dad."

"I know. But you're my baby girl."

"And I still am," she said, moving back. She motioned to Jacob. "I've been told that you're familiar with each other, but Dad, this is Jacob. My husband."

Green eyes narrowed before he took a deep breath and sighed, holding out a hand. "Jacob."

Jacob's lips quirked into something resembling a smile before taking her dad's hand. "Edward."

"Edward? Who is it?"

Ren's mother turned a corner, a dishcloth in her hands. When she saw Ren and Jacob, her eyes widened. Dropping the towel, she ran down the hall, tears pooling in her eyes. Ren was caught up in a giant hug, her mother squeezing her tighter than her father had.

"Oh, my sweet girl," she said pulling back and cupping Ren's face. "You look well."

Ren gripped her wrists. "I am, Mom. It's really nice with the pack."

And then she looked over Ren's head to Jacob. She gave him a warm smile. "Hey, Jake."

He nodded. "Bella."

"How are you?" she asked.

His eyes widened as if he were surprised she'd cared enough to ask. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm pretty good, actually."

"I bet you are," her dad mumbled.

"Edward!" her mother scolded.

Jacob scowled, glaring. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Her father's eyes narrowed. "I think you know damn well what it means."

"I don't think I do. Why don't you say it?" Jacob's tone was low and dangerous.

"Boys," Mom said with an uneasy laugh. "That's enough-,"

"Have you slept with my daughter yet?"

"Dad!" "Edward!"

Both words were drowned out by a vicious growl. Jacob stepped into her father's personal space, towering over him. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"And I agree with Jacob," Ren said, staring at her father. When he and Jacob both looked at her in shock, she continued. "You and Mom pushed me to volunteer. In fact, I didn't get a choice. I stood out there and he picked me as his mate. What happens between us is both none of your business and partially your fault. Don't blame him for doing what's natural for a king of a pack of werewolves. And whatever has happened between us has been consensual. He'd never hurt me, and that's all you need to know." She looked between the three of them. "Now, we can have a civilized visit or Jacob and I can leave. The choice is up to you."

Her father scowled. "Why can't we just visit with you?"

Fuming, Ren reached back to take Jacob's hand. "Because for all intents and purposes, he's my husband now. Something _you _pushed for."

Jacob raised her hand to his lips. "It's alright. I can leave."

She shook her head. "No. You have every right to be here. You protect us."

"But I'm not welcome." He glared at her dad. "I've got some things to take care of anyway." He looked back at her. The lines of his face softened. "I'll see you at home, alright?"

Hating that her father had done this, she went up on her toes and kissed his lips gently. "Okay. I'll see you at home."

He kissed her back, then kissed her burned hand before loping down the porch and toward the village. Cris stayed with her.

She turned back to her father. "I can't believe you did that. Are you happy now? It's just me."

Pushing past him, she moved into the house. But she didn't make it far. Her father gripped her wrist, pulling her to a stop.

He put her burned hand closer to his face. "And what the hell is this?"

Angrily, Ren yanked her hand out of his. "I don't get you, Dad. You throw me to the side of the road and say 'hey, do your duty' and now you wanna complain?"

"I wouldn't have to complain if they hadn't been total savages and tortured my daughter," he threw back.

A sharp growl shot through the room. Ren was the first to react, rushing toward Cris who was stalking into the house. Panicking, she stepped in front of him, putting her hands on his arms.

"Cris, stop. Please. He doesn't understand."

Immediately, he stopped, making her stumble. She'd expected resistance. He looked down at her. "Your grace?"

Taking in a deep breath, she stood up straight and straightened her shoulders. "Why don't you wait outside? Get some air? I have a feeling I won't be long. And I promise to yell if I need you."

His gaze moved to her father threateningly before he looked back to her. He bowed at the neck. "As you wish, your grace."

Ren waited for the door to close behind him before she rounded on her father once more. "You should really be more respectful around them. And me."

His expression closed down. "Just one week with them and already you protect them."

She glared at him. "Of course I do. I'm _married_ now. You don't know how the pack works, do you? Did you see how he just treated me? I'm mated to his king, which makes me his queen. In just one week, I've seen and done things I've only read about. You threw me into this, and now I have a new family. The pack is one large family. And you have no right to hate Jacob. No right to be all protective and self-righteous." She held up her hand. "I agreed to this. If I hadn't, I would have been home days ago and Jacob would have been picking another woman." Suddenly so very tired, she sighed. "Did you think this would be a cake walk? That I would be coming back home after a ceremony? Because that's what I'd thought at first, too. But you and Mom shipped me off to be married. I brought Jacob in hopes that maybe we could make the best of the situation, but no. I didn't know anything about how much you hated him. Because you never told me. Speaking of, why the hell would you push me for this when you knew you hated him?"

For a moment, he just glared at her before turning away to look at her mother, swallowing hard. "I didn't think he'd pick you. But now he's managed to get his hands on one of the women in my life."

Furious, Ren just stared at him. And then scoffed. "You think this is about you? He doesn't _care _about you! This has _nothing_ to do with you!" As if Jacob would pick her only to torture her father, not because she could in any way be desirable to a man like Jacob. She'd never been so insulted in her life, not even when Jacob had called her his fuck buddy. "He picked me because _of me_. He saw me protecting Mary. I was the only woman to even meet his eyes. I'm _strong _and he saw that. What is it you always used to tell me? It's not all about you, Dad."

Gathering a small bit of calm, she went to hug her mother. "Look, I can't stay, Mom. But if you want to visit, I'll talk to Jacob."

Her mother hugged her back. "Okay, baby. I understand. Say hi to Jake for me?"

"Sure."

Pulling back, she glared at her father who was shooting her mother a glare. "I may not have been a part of the pack for very long, but they've already accepted me. I'm not a child anymore. I am a married woman with people that look up to me. Maybe you don't know me as well as the two of us thought you did. Of course, I didn't know I could be like this, not until I got thrown into it. It's a different world with different customs. I'm a part of that now and I have to respect it. You should, too."

Yanking open the door, she practically stomped out of the house and jumped the stairs. Cris wasn't too far behind. Neither of them slowed down until they made it to the paved road. Ren took a deep breath of cold air that burned her lungs.

For a few minutes, they walked in silence, but she could feel him glance at her frequently.

"Is there something you want to say?" she asked.

"If it wouldn't offend."

She smiled over at him. "Of course not. Go for it."

His smile was small. "The pack probably won't know what was said today, so on behalf of them, thank you. You didn't have to defend us."

Stopping in the middle of the street, she looked at him. He stopped with her, eyes cool and calm. "Actually, I really don't know why I felt like I had to. I guess it's because I was sort of thrown into this by my parents. Not to mention, you guys aren't vicious animals. You're still people with feelings. Just a different way of life. And, in human terms, Jacob is my husband. Though we're not in love, I feel like he still deserves respect. Everything he's done for the pack, it deserves acknowledgement."

"Well nevertheless," he said as they started walking again, "I know our king would appreciate what you did today, especially against your own father."

"Father or not, he had no right to say what he did or to judge Jacob."

His lips quirked up again. "A sign of a true queen."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Like you said in there, you've only been with us a week. Already you identify with us. I've been with this pack a long time, but I've seen many human females struggle with the role after being picked. You're remarkably strong. Stronger now that you've been with us. I've been in the book store, saw how you interacted with people. You're good with them. Jacob tends to take in the abused and abandoned. This pack already has its prized king. And I think, with a little more training, you'll be a good queen for us."

Emotion rushing to prick her eyes, she swallowed hard, clearing her throat. "Thank you, Cris."

He smiled gently and tilted his head in a small bow. "You're welcome."

The rest of the walk was in a content silence. When they got back to the pack's land, Ren didn't know where Jacob had gone so she decided to visit Sadie and the baby. The medical cabin wasn't far from the cabin she shared with Jacob, in the center of the village.

Cris followed her into the warm building. As she passed, the staff lowered their eyes. She recognized it as a submissive gesture. Looking over the group, she spotted the nurse who had attended Sadie.

The woman actually curtsied. "Your grace."

Ren took a deep breath, knowing that in public, she had to deal with the formality. "Hi. I was wondering about Sadie. Is she okay for visitors?"

Without looking up, she nodded. "Yes, your grace. She's doing much better."

Gritting her teeth, Ren decided that she hated the formality. "Please look at me."

The nurse blinked up at her in surprise. "Your-,"

Ren held up a hand. "No. Stop that." She raised her voice so that the others could hear her. "Look, I don't know how this is supposed to go, but stop with the formality. My name is Ren or Renesmee, not 'your grace' or 'my queen'. Jacob would probably want us to be all formal when another pack is visiting or whatever, but when it's just me, please treat me like a normal person."

Nobody moved. Their heads were still bowed but they shared glances.

Frustrated, she clapped her hands together. "Hey, look at me. All of you."

Slowly, each one of them did. Their eyes still darted away as if they didn't know if it was okay to actually look at her.

She held her hands out from her body. "Look at me. I'm a normal twenty-year-old girl. So my title is queen. So what? You can still talk to me, be casual with me. I'm not going to punish anybody for not kissing the ground I walk on. I don't deserve any of that anyway." Looking around, she smiled, softening her gaze. "See? That's better. I like being able to see your faces. Now, I'm going to go visit Sadie, and none of you are to bow as I walk by. Smile instead. Say hi. _Be casual_."

Again, she walked through the crowd. It was apparent that they were visibly trying not to bow. She stifled a grin. When she got to the doors of the recovery hall, she could hear them whispering about how much like Jacob their new queen was. Interesting.

She pushed through the doors, Cris hot on her heels. Sadie was in the bed at the far end, talking with her mate while she cradled their son. They both looked up in surprise as she approached.

She smiled. "Hi."

"Your- I mean," Bryce started. It was clear he'd heard her in the main room. "Um…"

"Ren?"

He visibly flushed, casting his eyes down. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah. I was just wanting to come in and check on you guys."

Sadie grinned up at her. "We're wonderful. Thank you. And thank you so much for being here yesterday. It means a lot to us."

Ren perched on the bed next to Sadie's. "Of course we came. When Adair told us what was happening, Jacob and I rushed over."

Sadie's grin widened.

"So," Ren continued, swinging her legs, "what's the little guy's name?"

They both smiled down at their son.

"Zackary," Bryce said.

"That's lovely. Suits him perfectly."

Ren stayed for a little while, getting to know the two. Sadie wasn't much older than Ren, just a five year difference. Bryce had transferred the two of them from the previous pack when they'd learned that Sadie was pregnant. They didn't want the baby born into that other pack. So they were fairly new to the area. Ren genuinely liked both of them, especially Sadie. She could tell they'd get along well.

After about a half hour, Ren decided that Sadie was looking tired, so she said her goodbyes and told them that if they needed anything not to hesitate to ask. And then she left with Cris at her side.

Outside once more, she scanned the area, looking for a sign of Odette. Her knife was strapped to her waist under her shirt.

"You know," she said, "I think I'm going to go home. It's been a weird day." She looked over at him. "Thank you for walking with me. I mean, I know that Zeke assigned you to be my shadow, but you make lovely company."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, your grace. You're quite charming as well. Another graceful quality of a queen."

She shot him a look. "I know you heard me in the medical cabin. It's Ren or Renesmee. No more 'your grace'. Please."

Again he nodded. When they stepped up onto the porch, he turned to her. "Before you go in, I would like to apologize for my temper earlier. I should be above such impulses."

Reaching out, she touched his arm and shook her head. "No. He should have been above stupid prejudices. I'm sorry for what he said. In fact, I'm embarrassed."

Cris put his hand on her shoulder in a casual gesture. "Don't be. A lot of humans can't imagine what our culture is like even when we live in the same city. You're doing remarkably well. It's quite impressive."

Ren smiled up at him, feeling thankful for the words of encouragement he'd given her today.

In front of them, the door swung open. Jacob stood there, making the space between the jambs seem tiny. His dark eyes zeroed in on Cris's hand on her shoulder, which was hastily moved under the king's stare.

Cris immediately straightened and bowed formally. "My king."

Jacob's intense gaze met hers before he turned to the enforcer. "It's appreciated that you shadowed her today. Thank you for bringing her home safely."

Ren frowned as she watched them interact. Something was up with Jacob. He was incredibly intense. And the way he'd looked at her, scrutinizing.

When they started speaking in low tones, she waved to Cris before going inside. She supposed that she could start working on dinner. She started for the kitchen but didn't get far when Jacob came in behind her, shutting the door.

Reaching to her hip, she started taking the holster for the knife out of her pants. "I didn't expect you to be home. You said you had things to do, and I wasn't gone that lo-,"

A firm grip on her arm spun her around.

"Wha-,"

Jacob crushed her to his body, his mouth coming down on hers hard. It took her a minute, but she melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist and digging her nails into the skin at the small of his back.

When they pulled back to breathe, she was panting, her eyes heavy-lidded. "What was that for?"

He was breathing just as hard. "I heard what you said to your father."

His eyes were slowly bleeding to amber. His chest was heaving with his breaths.

Swallowing hard, she just stared up at him. "But I thought you had things to do."

"I do, but I wanted to hear what you had to say. And for what you did say, thank you."

Softening for him, she put her palm over his heart. "I meant every word. I don't hate it here, Jacob. And I'm trying to make the best of this. Why didn't you tell me how bad it was between you and my dad?"

He looked away. "I didn't remember it being that bad. But I have to say that whatever happened before I was turned seems like child's play."

Cupping his jaw, she gently turned him back to her. "Will you tell me? Please?"

He smirked without humor. "You really want to know about my thing with your mom?"

Ren smiled. "So it was more than a crush, huh?"

Calming down, eyes turning back to brown, he pulled away from her to go sit on one of the couches in front of the fire. Jacob stretched his arms out along the back of the couch. "Do you know when your parents got married?"

Surprised by the question, Ren went to sit down next to him, facing his profile. "All I really know is that they were high school sweethearts and they married when Mom was eighteen and Dad nineteen."

He nodded. "Just before I was infected. Bella met Edward in school when she first moved here. They fell in love, blah, blah, blah. And then after graduation, the doc got a job offer in Alaska. They packed up Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie, and then they left. Your dad broke up with your mother, telling her that he didn't want to be with her enough to stay behind."

Ren gasped. She'd never known that, and honestly couldn't see her father ever saying that. No matter his temper, he was still madly in love with his wife.

Smirking, Jacob reached over and tugged on one of her curls. "Don't worry. I'll give you a spoiler alert: they get back together." When she gave him a look, he laughed. "Anyway," he continued, "Bella was…depressed. Understatement, but that's all I have. Her dad and mine were best friends. Hell, they probably still are. So eventually our paths crossed. And then we just started hanging out. Spent a lot of time together. I…well, I thought I was in love with her. I really thought there was something there. It became a thing that we saw each other almost every day. Even did homework together even though we went to different schools." Pausing, he stared into the fire, still twirling the lock of her hair.

"And then?" she prodded.

He frowned, brows pulling down low. "Edward came back. Bella forgave him like nothing happened. She stopped coming around. Edward didn't like how much time we'd been spending together. I rarely saw her, and when I did, it was because he'd been at work and she could sneak out. I guess he found out about it from her dad. Charlie always did like me better. Now that you got me thinking about it, I remember Edward storming down to the garage on my dad's land where I was working on a dirt bike. He got in my face, spitting pissed. Told me to stay away from her, that they were getting married. I didn't hear from her for a long time after that." Finally he looked over to Ren. "It wasn't that I was crushing on her. It was more that she was my best friend."

She met his steady gaze. "I'm sorry. That's terrible. I never knew."

He shrugged. "Well, they got married a couple months later. I was invited, but I didn't go. Except to give her a dance. She told me I was her best man when I refused the invite. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just throw that kind of friendship completely out the window, so I gave her a dance. And then…"

Totally absorbed in him, she moved closer, waiting for him to continue.

He cleared his throat and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "Aren't you usually fixing dinner by now?"

Slumping, she whined. "Really? You leave me with that cliffhanger?"

Chuckling, he pushed her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, actually I will." He jerked his head toward the kitchen. "Go on. I got a surprise for you after we eat."

Well that surprised her, even more than him sharing. Instead of commenting on the gift, she took his hand and kissed his palm. "Someday you're going to talk to me."

As she passed him, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to a stop. Then he reached up to pull her down to him by her neck. He gently placed his lips to hers. "Again, thank you for what you said today."

Smiling, she straightened up. "I don't know that much about you, but the things I do know deserve respect. And I meant what I said about the pack being my new family. I'm your wife. This is my home now. If he disrespects you or the pack, he disrespects me."

Before things could get weirder between them, she went off for the kitchen, mind spinning. Once her iPod was on, Ren worked on getting dinner ready, the whole time wondering what Jacob had been up to in the short time she was gone.

**JPOV**

Jacob sat on the couch staring into the fire and drinking the beer Ness had brought him. He still couldn't believe that he'd almost started talking about Gemma to her. God, what the hell had he been thinking? He was surprised that she didn't already know anyway. She could ask any pack member to tell her about him and they would. He could see how much they loved her after only a week or so. And after the story about him and Ness being with Sadie during the birth had gotten around, the love for both of them sky-rocketed. But he knew she was the favorite, a natural with them.

Nevertheless, the less she knew about him, the easier their relationship would be. But he knew that couldn't last. She was right; they were married. It was a binding for the rest of her human life. Eventually, she'd find out. So why the hell didn't he tell her? A few reasons came to mind, but he discarded them all because if he felt them, that meant he cared about what she thought about him. Which he didn't. At all.

But he still couldn't get over how she'd defended him and the pack today. He'd been sure that she would have agreed with her father, and he'd wanted to be there to see and/or hear it. But it had never come. She'd fired right back. Clearly, she was still angry with them for forcing her to volunteer. It made him rethink how he'd spoken to her that morning. Maybe she hadn't been willing then, but now that she was here, she was going to put her all into being what he and the pack needed. Including defender. It had surprised him, but he'd gotten turned on listening to her.

He strove to protect the pack, even from themselves. Unlike a lot of pack leaders, Jacob let them keep up human traditions if they wanted, like Christmas and Easter. Just because you were turned into a werewolf didn't mean you couldn't still be religious. A lot of the previously human wolves went to church on Sundays. He never objected. Those that were born into the pack had choices. They could convert or recognize pack culture. Or hell, mix it up. He didn't care as long as his people didn't go ripping apart humans.

It was clear that Ness wanted to protect them, too. Maybe she had thought the pack would be brutal savages and had probably agreed with Edward before Jacob had chosen her. But now that she'd been around the pack, she knew differently.

Something soft hit him on the neck and shoulders. "Dinner's ready."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that she had thrown a dish towel at him. He grabbed it as he got up and went for the table. He smiled when he looked at what she'd set out. Enchiladas. There was a time or two that Bella had made them for him.

Ness came to the table with a beer for him and glass of water for her. "What?" she asked as she sat down.

He shook his head and settled in. "Your mom made this for me a couple times."

"Really?"

He nodded, twisting the top off the beer.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, spooning a couple enchiladas onto his plate.

"Sure."

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

Jacob paused with the fork halfway to his mouth. "What makes you ask that?"

She shrugged, filling her own plate. "I am my mother's daughter. If you can't have one, maybe substitute with her daughter."

When she wouldn't look at him, he set his fork down and pushed her hand away from her face. That got her to look at him. "When I picked you that had nothing to do with Bella. Everything to do with you. I haven't even thought about her in years. There're too many responsibilities to worry about. And that lets me know that I never really loved her. If I can push the feelings aside like that, then we weren't supposed to be together. Maybe I still care for the friendship we had, but I don't love her. She's happy with Edward, and I'm the king of a pack of werewolves." He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. "Don't ever think you're a substitute. You're not. When I looked at you, I wasn't seeing Bella. I was seeing a beautiful, strong female. And that's still what I see when I look at you. I'm not that boy anymore, Ness. My human past stays in the past. All I'm worried about is the future of my people. Do you understand?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded. "I understand."

He smiled a little. "Good. Now eat."

Smiling, she shook her head. "Is that an order?"

"Yes. I can sense your hunger."

The rest of dinner was a quiet affair. Jacob made sure his mate ate enough. Didn't want her getting too skinny. She had just the right amount of meat on her bones for his tastes, something to hold onto. She needed to get comfortable eating in front of him, which she still had problems with. At night, he could hear her stomach rumble if he concentrated hard enough. She always said she was full. Well now, he was going to change that. Starting tonight. He made her eat second helpings, and made sure there was plenty of sauce from the dish drenching the tortillas. Plenty of carbs.

Now, he knew she was full because she sat back heavily in the chair and patted her stomach. "I feel like I just gained ten pounds."

He couldn't help what he said. "As long as it goes to your ass, I'm okay with that."

She fired a napkin at him. "Jerk."

He laughed. "Never claimed otherwise." He picked up their plates and then clapped a hand on her thigh. "Come on. Let's clean up the kitchen so you can see what I got for you."

"I still can't believe you got me something," she said as they moved around the kitchen.

"Why?"

She looked up at him. "Um because when I first got here you were quick to make sure I wasn't important to you, that this wasn't really a partnership. You don't buy stuff for people who mean nothing to you. Not," she added quickly, "that I want you to take whatever it is back."

He chuckled, sliding a plate into the dishwasher. "Well, after what I heard from you today, you earned some serious points. But also the pack has accepted you, for the most part. And you're mated to me. That makes you part of the pack, something I actually do care about. I was angry at having to pick a mate, and I thought you were going to be a hard-to-handle twenty-year-old. But you've surprised me. Besides, I spouted that stuff about manners and respect. After today, you deserve it from me."

He could admit to himself that her grin was worth it. They finished cleaning the kitchen not long after.

"So, where's this surprise?" she asked.

"Outside."

Going for the backdoor, he grabbed one of her jackets and helped her into it. It was starting to get colder out, hinting that winter was on its way. Once she was bundled up, he led her outside onto the back porch.

He knew when she saw it because she gasped.

He'd talked to one of his old friends from the rez about a greenhouse a couple days ago. Sam was in the business, and he knew some people. Last night, he'd called to tell Jacob the supplies were in. It had been perfect timing since they'd planned to be away from the village for a while. While they'd been gone, the materials had been brought up, and the guys started working on it. It was a fairly simple layout, nothing too complicated.

He watched as Ness stepped forward to lean on the railing, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Do you like it?" he asked, the answer somehow important to him.

Wiping her eyes, she turned to him, grinning. "I love it! So much." And then she threw herself at him, her arms around his neck pulling him down to her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her lips crashed onto his passionately.

Jacob wrapped her up in his arms, and then pulled back to breathe. "It's not finished yet, but -,"

"But it's perfect," she said. "I didn't expect anything this big or this soon." She looked back over her shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered again. "So much."

He gripped her hips. "You're welcome. Especially after dealing with my shit."

Her thumbs stroked over his jaw. "See? You're not too much of a monster, not if you can do something like this. Can I go in?" she asked, not giving him time to respond to the monster bit.

He looked at the building over her head. "Yeah. The structure is done. They just have a little maintenance left."

She put another kiss to his lips and ran for the greenhouse, no doubt ready to plan where everything would go. Standing there watching her, he decided that he'd give her a little more freedom. He'd been serious about the amount of brownie points she'd won for herself today.

And he thought about what she'd just said about him not being a monster. She was wrong about that on so many levels. He'd killed so much over the years since his infection. And he was still ruthless. He'd slaughter humans if they ever actually became a threat to his pack. It wasn't a comforting thought, but it was true. After his infection, something inside him snapped. Whatever that something was had shattered even more after Gemma had betrayed him. That betrayal had opened his eyes and forced him to fight for his life. He'd thought his humanity was completely gone, but with Ness around, he could feel it swimming under his skin, touching that part of his brain that wanted to be feral. That humanity forced him to stop and think about his past. No matter what he told Ness, his human self had been surfacing more and more since she'd been around. The old Jacob peeking through. And he didn't like it. He didn't like feeling like he was about to go to war with himself.

Inside the greenhouse, she was taking pictures with her phone. When she was done, she ran back up onto the porch, shivering. Together, they turned to go back inside. Grabbing a pad of paper, Ness sat at the table and started scribbling out notes.

He went to her. "Hey, I'm gonna go up to the office, go through some requests. Come get me when you go to bed."

She nodded, bent over the paper. "Sure thing. If I get bored with this, I might come up there and go through the billing stuff, organize it the way I want it."

Fighting the urge to kiss her, he just said, "Don't rush. We might get distracted, and then we'd never get anything done."

She flashed him a smile.

Briefly, he returned it before turning away for the stairs.

"Hey," she called. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Frowning, he looked around. "Not that I'm aware of."

Quirking an eyebrow, she pointed down to the floor beside her. "Get your ass over here."

Confused, he moved his feet over to her. Standing over her, he looked around again. "What?"

Grabbing his shirt, she pulled him down until she could reach his lips with hers. She took control of the kiss, nipping and sucking at his lips. When she pulled back, she said, "I like kissing you. Remember that. Might get you laid more often." And then she bent back over the paper, as if nothing had just happened.

Dazed and stupidly aroused, he moved for the stairs again. A week ago, he'd have put her in her place for ordering him around. Moreover, he wouldn't have come when called. The fuck was happening here?

As he went into the office, he had the sneaking suspicion that he was getting pussy-whipped.

_Well, _he thought, _there goes the first step of the slippery slope._

**RPOV**

Some hours later, Ren stretched out and yawned. Man, even after a couple cups of coffee, she was beat. Looking over at the clock, it wasn't a surprise. Half past eleven. No wonder.

Stacking her notes neatly, she turned off the kitchen and dining lights. When she made it upstairs, she stopped in front of Jacob's office and poked her head in. He was leaning over a stack of papers.

"Hey," she said.

He looked up, blinking as if he'd forgotten there was a room around him. "Hey."

"I'm heading to bed. It's almost midnight."

Leaning back in his chair, he swiped a hand over his face. "Let me finish this one request and I'll be right behind you."

She gave him a stern look. "Just that one. That's it. Then come to bed. You need to sleep, too."

Snorting, he shook his head. "Definitely whipped," he muttered.

"What was that?" she asked, having heard him perfectly clearly.

Growling low, he bent back over the paper. "Quit nagging, woman. I'll stay in here however late I want."

Rolling her eyes, she scoffed and shrugged. "Even with your naked wife waiting to thank you for the gift? Alright, whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Grinning, she shut the door and went for the bedroom. She could hear him cursing. Just as the door to the office opened, she was closing the door to the bedroom and hurried for the bathroom. Quickly, she got ready for bed, stripping down and sliding into Jacob's robe. He didn't use it that often, so she'd staked a claim on it.

When she opened the door, she gasped and almost ran into him. Jacob was standing just outside the door, eyes already amber. He reached for her waist, pulling her against his hard body.

"I shouldn't let you get away with ordering me like that, but I want to take you more than I want to read that piece of paper."

With a low chuckle, Ren undid the fastenings on his jeans.

######

The next day, Ren couldn't believe that Jacob was going with her to the hardware store to pick out the herbs she wanted. They had packets of seeds that she could choose from. He was amused as she looked from her notes ad back to the packets, trying to decide how much of each she wanted. She ignored him as best she could.

He was also amusing Lydia. Theresa had an interview in town and they'd offered to watch over her. Eventually, they got tired of being inside waiting for her, so he took her outside to play hide and seek in the parking lot. Smiling, she shook her head. He really would be a good father, especially to a little girl.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"

Ren looked up to see the store manager, Jerry, watching her. He was an older gentlemen, just barely old enough to be her grandfather.

She smiled. "Oh, no. I know what I need just not how much of everything."

When he got a good look at her, he grinned. "Little Ren. Haven't seen you around here in a while."

"Been busy," she said, glancing outside.

He followed it and nodded. "Understandable. So how're they treatin' you?"

Touched by his concern, she said, "Very well, thank you."

"That was Jacob Black, right? The pack leader?"

She nodded. "Mhm, my husband."

Jerry whistled. "That boy got big."

Surprised, she blinked up at him. "You knew him?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. He was in here all the time, looking for stuff to build his cars. I got some old car parts around here. Sometimes he'd find what he was looking for." He shook his head. "Man, life sure did put him through the wringer. I've heard what men like him go through in their world. But I'll tell ya, I'm not surprised he came out on top. Boy was always tough. Polite, but tough. And his daddy?" He shook his head again.

"What about him?" she asked, forgetting about shopping.

"Old Billy Black hasn't been the same since his only boy took off. And now that Jacob's back, everybody knows he hasn't been to see his daddy. It's like everyone else gets to see Jake except his own father and sisters. Rachel and Rebecca, those are two good women right there. After Jake took off, they moved back to take care of Billy." He frowned. "I'm surprised you don't know all this. Charlie Swan is Billy's best friend."

She shrugged. "I haven't seen him since I married Jacob. The Blacks never really came up. I've met Billy a few times, but I was little. After high school, I was working in the book store all the time."

He gave her a look over the rim of his glasses. "Well, I know Billy would love to see his son. Maybe you could talk that husband of yours into a visit."

Ren thought back to the other night when the subject had come up. Jacob had shut her down hard. And now, she found herself wanting to defend him, as if Jerry were judging him. She felt like the family fight should be between her and Jacob, not the town and Jacob.

She shrugged, offering a small smile. "I'll see what I can do. Jacob is extremely busy. And honestly, he probably has his reasons. But I'll talk to him."

Jerry seemed to realize she didn't like where he'd been going with that topic, so he just nodded. "Well, go on. Take what you want. No charge."

Shocked, she blinked up at him. "What?"

He waved at the spinner. "I don't make that much money off them things anyway. Just take what you want whenever you want."

Shaking her head, she said, "I can't do that."

"Yes, you can. Heck, take the whole dang thing."

The bell over the door jingled. Jacob and Lydia came back in. Lydia came to stand beside Ren, wrapping her arms around Ren's leg.

"Still not done?" Jacob asked. "Hey, Jerry. Been a while."

The two of them shook hands.

"I'm trying to get her take all of it, but she won't do it."

She made a noise in her throat. "I can't just not give you anything."

Jacob took his wallet out of his back pocket. "How much _will_ you take for the whole thing?"

Jerry studied the stand. "Twenty bucks?"

Jacob pulled out a fifty. "Keep the change."

"Now, Jacob Black-,"

"Keep it, old man," he said affectionately. "You gave me plenty of discounts. Don't think I don't remember that."

Grumbling, Jerry took the money and then handed Ren and Lydia a couple of paper bags. Together, they plucked the packets from the spinner, filling up both bags. When they were done, they all said goodbye and left. Since they had Lydia, Jacob had wanted to drive one of the pack vehicles. They all piled in and headed back toward the village.

"Actually," Ren said turning toward the backseat. "Do you like to read?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically.

Ren looked to Jacob. "Can we go to the book store? Would you mind?"

"Not at all." He drove right past the turn off for the pack's land and went into Forks.

She was happy to see that the store was open. What she really wanted was to see how her mother was handling everything. Ren and Lydia hopped out as soon as Jacob pulled into a spot. They walked inside hand in hand.

"Mom?" Ren called as soon as they were in.

A moment later, her mother poked her head around the corner. She grinned. "Hey, baby. What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "We were out and about, thought we'd stop by. And Lydia here likes to read." Ren looked down. "Lydia, that's my mother, Bella."

Shy, Lydia leaned into Ren's leg, looking up through her lashes.

Her mom came forward and crouched down. "Hi, Lydia. It's nice to meet you." When the girl didn't answer, she said, "I just got some really cool children's books in if you want to pick one out."

Lydia nodded. "Okay." She held her hand out to Ren's mom.

Grinning, her mother took the hand. "Alright, let's go check them out. You pick whatever you want."

When they disappeared into the back, Ren looked around. Well, at least everything looked the way she left it. She caught Jacob watching her.

"Have you ever been in here?"

He shook his head. "No, but it's nice. I like it."

"Thanks. I did all the arranging and decorating."

He smiled at her as her mother came back in.

"Well, she's settling in." She smiled. "How are you, baby?"

Ren hugged her tight. "I'm good, Mom. Looks good in here."

Moving back, she looked around. "Well, I'm trying to keep it the way you had it. The back room is kind of a hot mess, but I'm working on it." Then she looked up to Jacob. "Hi, Jacob."

"Hey, Bells."

Ren looked back and forth between them, feeling a bit awkward. Her husband and mother had had a thing.

"I'm sorry about Edward," she said.

Jacob waved a hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. Ness and I talked about it. It's all good. I just forgot how much he hated me. All the other shit in my life weighs a lot more than the past."

Bella's eyebrows rose. "'Ness'? Like, the Loch Ness Monster?"

Ren grinned. "New nickname. Only he calls me that, though."

She nodded. "Duly noted. Anyway, Edward's still upset. What you said hit him hard."

"Good," Ren said.

"I guess we did kind of throw you to the wolves, didn't we?" Reaching out, she took Ren's left hand, studying the marks. "Did it hurt?"

"A little. But it was brief. Jacob has them, too."

He held up his right hand.

Bella's eyes watered. "So, I guess that means this is pretty permanent, huh?"

They both nodded.

She looked up to Jacob. "Have you been to see Billy?"

Ren winced as Jacob clenched his jaw. "Mom-,"

"No," he said, surprising her. "I haven't."

Ren's mother put her hands on her hips. "Well why the hell not?"

He growled and muttered, "And this is why I rarely leave the village." Louder, he said, "Look, Bells, I get that you care but it's best that I don't go back."

Bella shook her head. "Then why did you even come back to Forks, Jake?"

"I had my reasons."

"Mom, please-,"

She ignored Ren. "Well it sure wasn't to let your family know you were alive. You were gone for years, Jake. Years. We all thought you were dead. And then you just march back into Forks, order the wall built, and then lay down rules."

_Uh-oh, _Ren thought. _She's about to go on a rant._

But Jacob shook his head. "Don't start, Bella. I see you about to accuse me of shit. I came back because it was the best place to settle a non-violent pack. It wasn't out of any loyalty to you or anyone else."

He started getting angry, his eyes turning to black and then to amber.

"I _left _because the woman I thought I loved infected me, saying that she could help train me and give me a better life. Instead, you know what she did?" He'd started moving forward with his anger, backing Bella into the side of a book case. "She offered me to her king as a sacrifice, trying to sate his need as a serial killer."

Both Ren and her mother gasped.

He went on, almost as if he couldn't stop. "And you wanna know what I did? I killed him, ripped his throat out. And then I killed the girl. Shredded her apart with my teeth, painted that field with her blood." There was a mean glint in his eyes, as though he was finally getting the reaction he wanted from them, the one that told him they thought he was a monster. "I'm not the same Jacob you knew, Bella. I've done things you would never understand. And that makes Edward's little bitch fit so meaningless to me. I've got blood on my hands. _That's _why I won't see my family. They don't need to know the things I've done." Growling, he shook his head and looked at Ren. "Go get Lydia. It's time to go."

With her brain still processing what she'd just heard, Ren went to find Lydia. Thankfully, she appeared not to have heard anything. She was sitting at a table, swinging her legs, and reading a book.

Ren gathered her up, grabbing the small pile of books at her elbow and putting them into a bag.

As they passed Bella, Ren gave her mother a hug while Jacob was yelling for them to hurry up or he'd make them walk. In his current mood, she believed him. So they hurried out to the truck where she got Lydia settled into the child's chair.

The ride back was silent and seething. This was as mad as Ren had ever seen him.

They dropped off Lydia when they saw that Theresa was back from town, and then drove right up to the porch of the cabin. Jacob lurched out of the truck, stormed up the steps, and flung himself into the house. Ren got out slower, collecting her thoughts while grabbing the bags out of the back of the cab. As she moved around the truck, she saw Adair near the rec cabin. He gave her a questioning look. She shook her head and disappeared into the house.

Not seeing Jacob anywhere, she placed the bags on the dining room table.

Immediately, she stiffened, realizing that she wasn't alone in the dark space. A hand snapped from behind, wrapping around her throat.

Jacob's voice in her ear was growl and a hiss combined. "You will never speak about what I said, do you understand?"

Swallowing hard, she asked, "Why? Don't you think we need to?"

The grip tightened threateningly, making her fight a little for air. "No, I don't. I told you I was a monster, and now you and your mother know some of the things I've done. Today's incident will not be repeated to anyone, not even Adair. That is an order. If you defy it, I can promise that your punishment will not be pleasant."

And then he let her go, moving with inhuman speed out of the dining area and up the stairs. A door slammed, echoing down the hall. Ren leaned heavily on the table, gasping. Tears pooled in her eyes as she rubbed her throat. The power in just that one hand had been immense, and she knew he'd been fighting to hold it back and not kill her.

To try to calm herself down, she started on dinner. The motions of peeling potatoes helped to slow the shaking. And while water boiled in the pots, she arranged the seed packets of the herbs.

And then dinner was ready an hour later. Tentatively, she walked up the steps, terrified to even poke her head in the office. But at the door, she took a deep breath and tried to stop shaking.

Cracking open the door, she looked in. "Jacob?" she asked quietly.

"What?" he demanded in a rough voice, just this side of a growl. Bent over the desk, she flipped his still amber eyes up to her. The look was a warning. He expected her to broach the topic.

She swallowed hard, but looked away from him. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry," she whispered.

When he didn't answer immediately, she looked back to see that he was sneering. "Scared of me now? Good. You should be."

She looked at him, hurt. "Of course I'm scared of you. You just put your hand to my throat."

A flicker of emotion- confusion?- passed over his face.

But she didn't ask or wait for him to say anything. "I'll make you a plate. If you don't come down by the time I get done, I'll put it in the fridge so you can heat it up."

And then she left. As predicted, he didn't come down for dinner. She ate alone and in silence, doodling on her plans for the greenhouse. But she was dying to know if the story was true. How could a woman do that to somebody? How young was he? This Gemma had infected him. So he'd been a teenager. And she had to have been around the age Ren was now. No wonder he had problems talking about it. Had he really killed her, though? And if he did, Ren wondered how she should feel about it. How would she feel now if she were put into a position where it was her life or another's in a fight? She figured the silver dagger she carried was her answer.

After cleaning the kitchen, she went in search of him. Maybe she could comfort him out of his anger. Surprisingly, he wasn't in the office.

She frowned. Did he go to bed already? Not likely. Sleepy and pissed off were two moods that just didn't go together.

And then there was a loud _boom_ from down the hall. She jumped before realizing it was coming from the media room attached to their bedroom. Swallowing her heart back down into her chest, she went for the room. He was sitting on the couch, watching some sort of action movie. His long arms were stretched over the back of the couch.

Quietly, she went to sit next to him. Not touching. His fingers moved to play in her hair. But one glance said he was still pissed. Those eyes still hadn't changed back to brown.

If she were to decide how she felt about the situation and know how to deal with it, she knew there was one question to ask.

It took her two tries to just say his name. His alien eyes slid to her, the only thing that moved. She swallowed hard.

"Just tell me one thing. Was the story true?"

**JPOV**

The moment she started speaking, the wolf took over, shoving Jacob back. The wolf could only see the woman in front of him as Gemma. Even the voice was Gemma's. And he wanted her to pay. He was king now, and she had to obey him.

He was on her faster than the blink of an eye, shoving her down on her back, head slamming onto the arm of the couch. Fear shined out of her blue eyes.

"Jacob-,"

Reaching between them, he ripped her jeans with his claws from waist to crotch and then shoved them down along with her panties. Her small hands pushed at his chest.

"No, Jacob. Stop. I'm not in the mood tonight. We need to talk about this." Her voice was a couple octaves higher from fear.

Too fucking bad. He gripped both of her wrists in one hand, pulling her arms over her head. With the other hand, he grabbed the throw blanket and stuffed the corner of it into her mouth to keep her from talking. He didn't want to hear her shit. Her eyes widened even more as her body bucked.

"Shut the fuck up, Gemma."

Now that he had a hand free, he undid his own jeans, freeing his cock. When he positioned himself, tears started to pool at the corners of her eyes as she shook her head.

He thrust, but she wasn't ready for him. Of course she wasn't. The bitch had never wanted him. So he shoved himself inside her. She screamed through the blanket, body arching. She tried to wriggle out from under him, but he laid down on top of her, hammering in. He wanted her to know who and what he was now, what she'd turned him into.

He was the king, and he could take what he wanted, when he wanted. It was the law of every king, and for the first time, he was taking advantage of it.

He guessed she realized that she wasn't getting away because her body went still under his, her head turned to the side as she cried.

Submissive, exactly how he liked it. He pumped and pumped into her, wanting that release inside her. That way, she'd know she'd been owned by the king she helped create.

**RPOV**

The fear had turned into a full body paralysis. She realized Jacob thought she was Gemma. And there was no way she could fight him. Her body was being ravaged by a feral animal. The human part of Jacob was gone, replaced by something vicious that ran on instincts and impulses. All she could do was wait for it to be done and pray that he didn't kill her. The whole time, she'd turned her head, crying. There was no way she could look up at him, her husband. Because this wasn't him. That she knew for a fact.

And eventually, it was done.

After releasing inside of her in a painful thrust, he knelt back, pulled up his pants without zipping or buttoning them, and sat back to finish his movie as if nothing had happened.

Ren just laid there, still frozen in fear and disbelief.

And then his hand came down to rub over her leg.

In a heartbeat, she was up off the couch and running for the bathroom. She made it just in time to hug the toilet and toss up dinner. It took ten minutes of heaving before she could convince her body that it was empty. She managed to crawl to the door and lock it before going to the shower. Under the hot spray, she hugged her naked body and cried. There was no doubt that tomorrow, there would be bruises all over her thighs and hip where he'd gripped her. God, the way he'd fucked her, so emotionless, careless. He hadn't cared that she wasn't prepared or that she'd said no. It was like nothing had gotten through to him.

It all came down to one point: Jacob had raped her.

Even though the water was as hot as she could stand it, she still shivered under the onslaught. But she didn't manage to get herself put together enough to actually clean herself. Jacob's release slid down her thighs. Unable to look at it, she scrubbed her sore thighs until they were bright red and stung with the soap.

When she was as clean as she could get, she put on the extra pajamas she kept in the bathroom just in case. She was too sore for panties so she kept them off.

Out in the room, she noticed that he'd closed the media room doors. Good. She didn't want to see him right now.

Why wasn't she panicking? Why didn't she hate the thought of him?

_Because it hadn't been him. _The human part of Jacob wasn't into rape. She'd believed him when he'd told her that, and still did. The amber in his eyes was proof that it hadn't been him as well as him not able to see that it was her instead of Gemma.

Still shaking, she crawled into bed. If she thought he wouldn't carry her back to the bed, she would have gone to sleep downstairs on the couch. And really, she didn't want him touching her, not until he was back to normal.

After turning off the light, the tears finally came back.

Silently, she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

**Um, yeah. A lot of you are going to hate me for that. I'm sorry. But I do love you! The next chapter is better, I promise! xoxoxoxoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

***Dun, dun, duuuuun* So we find out how Jacob reacts and how Ness deals with it. This Ness definitely surprised me. And Jacob is being contradictory all over the place. He really needs to straighten out. He's driving me crazy. Anywho, yes my chapters are getting shorter by a couple thousand words, but I'm trying to pace myself and give you guys good quality chapters instead of just gettin' where I'm goin'. \**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**JPOV**

The sun was actually bright the next morning. Jacob remembered that the weather guy had said it was supposed to be clear and cold that day. He frowned, his stomach howling more than it usually did in the morning. And then there was no smell of something cooking. Apparently, he'd gotten used to Nessie being up before him and making breakfast. He was used to the smell of bacon and eggs.

Sitting up, he frowned, feeling like he was supposed to be angry about something. He rotated his neck, trying to remember yesterday. All that came up was the hardware store and the book store. Bella had yelled at him about visiting his family.

A sinking feeling was settling in his stomach. He couldn't remember anything after that. Not the drive home or…anything. This wasn't good. He was missing time. Which hadn't happened to him in years.

Rolling out of bed, he looked down at Ness. She was on her side facing away from him, curled up into a ball under the blankets. Then he eyed the doors to the media room, feeling like there was something significant in there. Going to them, he opened them up and looked into the room. Nothing looked out of place. But he still felt like something was off. He moved into and around the room. The blanket was bunched on the cushions. He picked it up and put it to his nose. Smelled like Ness. So she'd watched a movie with him?

Something was wrong. The sense of wrongness overshadowed "off". Stalking around, he went back into the room. Something on the bathroom floor caught his attention. He padded across the bedroom to the bathroom, turning on the light. A small pair of jeans and panties.

He frowned and picked up the pants.

And felt his stomach turn sour again. There were long furrows in the front of the denim that looked like they were made by claws, his claws. The panties fell out of the jeans and he caught a whiff of blood. Looking down, he moved them around with his foot. The grey satin was spotted.

He swallowed back bile. She wasn't on her period.

Dropping the jeans, he went out into the bedroom and stood on her side of the bed, looking down at her. On closer inspection, she seemed tense, her brows pulled down low.

Gently, he moved the covers down her body. His frown deepened. She was dressed in pajamas. Long sleeved shirt and long pants. What the hell? This wasn't normal for her. He'd made sure of that.

He knew that she slept like a rock just like him, so he rolled her over and carefully started skimming the pants down her legs. Heart pounding, stomach churning, he was scared what he was going to find.

And was right to be.

She hadn't put on any underwear so his view was unobstructed. Dark black and blue bruises covered her thighs and hips. They spanned the spaces between her waist and mid-thigh. Her core was bruised and swollen.

"Oh, God," he whispered, feeling like he was going to throw up.

What had he done?

After quickly covering her back up, he scrambled away from the bed and to the media room, locking himself inside. There was a roaring in his ears. If someone had attacked him now, they'd probably be able to beat him senseless before he came to. He got to his feet, eyes unable to focus. Until they found the couch. Instinctively, he knew that's where it had happened.

That's where he'd raped Nessie.

He'd been so angry about telling Bella and Ness about Gemma that the wolf had surfaced and shoved him down. That was the only explanation. It had happened before, back when he'd first been infected. He struggled to remember now, to bring the wolf up and demand an explanation. It was as if the damn thing were hiding from him. But he did get a flash of something.

As if in a dream, he saw his own clawed hand stuff the corner of the blanket in Nessie's mouth, but there was a ghostly image of Gemma imposed over her. And then his own words echoed in his head, telling Gemma to shut up.

_Oh, God_. The wolf had been so angry that he'd thought Ness had been Gemma. He couldn't differentiate through the anger and had forced himself with Jacob's body on Ness, hurting her. Causing her to bleed. There was no telling the kind of damage he'd done to her on the inside.

The shaking started in his hands as more of that anger coursed through him. But this time, he was in control of it. In a fit of rage, he descended on the couch, clawing it apart, and shredding that damn blanket. Stuffing and foam flew through the air as fabric ripped under his claws.

When he was done, he stood there, knee deep in foam, fabric, and fluff. Breathing hard, he felt the world tilt. He'd hurt a woman. He'd hurt Ness, his _wife and mate_.

It took a long time for him to calm down. When he did, he went back into the bedroom. Ness had slept through his fit. He must have scared the shit out of her. He went into the closet and put on a pair of sweats. Back in the bedroom, he carefully undressed her. She must have been in a lot of pain so he gingerly picked her up and carried her to the bathroom and ran the hot water in the tub. He didn't know how hot she could handle it so he kept it on the low side of warm.

When the tub was full, he stepped in and sat down with her in his lap. The sweats soaked through, but he dealt with it. She groaned and settled in against his chest, but didn't wake up.

What he really needed to do was take her to the medical cabin. But he wanted a moment to take care of her. The human part him knew that this was his fault. He'd let the wolf take over in a tantrum and it could have damaged her permanently. And even now, the wolf inside him peeked out through the internal forest of his consciousness, trying to see if she was okay. Jacob yelled internally that this was his fault, and now the three of them had to suffer for it.

In the warm water, he stroked her skin, trying to comfort her.

But the touching woke her up.

When she did and the sleep cleared from her eyes, she stared at up at him. And then her eyes widened as whatever happened last night came back to her. Once she got enough air in her lungs, she screamed and started thrashing, trying to get away from him.

He tried to grab her and calm her down, but the water made her skin slick. She managed to flop out of the tub and scurry across the tile to the bedroom.

"Ness, wait! Please!" Rushing out of the tub, he grabbed a couple towels on his way out.

He found her huddled under the picture window, hiding behind the heavy curtains. They were shaking because she was as she hugged her knees to her chest. As an afterthought, he came to the conclusion that it was probably hadn't been the best idea to strip her down naked and hold her in a bath of warm water. Not after he'd…hurt…her the way he had.

So he crouched down next to the bed, giving her some room. He had to swallow a few times before he could even talk. "Ness, I know you don't want me near you, and I don't blame you," he said, talking softly and slowly. "I honestly don't remember what happened last night, but I put the pieces together. I swear to you that I'm not going to hurt you again. Hell, I'll never touch you again. It was stupid getting in the tub with you. I just wanted to help you feel better. But right now, I really would like to get you to the medical cabin."

The whole time, she kept her face hidden as she shook and cried. He could smell her tears. The tang was strong in his sinuses. And her fear was like burning rubber. Forgetting the towels, he reached back to grab the comforter off the bed and held it out between his hands.

"Please. You need to see a doctor." He could have called the doctor over here but he didn't think she felt safe here with him, so he was willing to take her to the doctor to give her a sense of security.

He held his breath while she cried. And then, after a few heartbeats, she sniffled and raised her head. Her copper hair cascaded down her back, sticking to her skin in a curtain.

She swiped her palm under her eyes. "You really don't remember?"

Clenching his jaw, fighting his own emotions, Jacob shook his head. "No, I don't," he whispered. He shuffled his feet a little closer, holding out the blanket.

Her eyes moved from the blanket to him and back again. Seeming to make a decision, she started to move closer, but whimpered and started to fall.

Jacob moved quickly, wrapping her up in the blanket and his arms. Still in his wet sweats, he cradled her against his chest and went for the door. It didn't take long to get down the stairs and out of the cabin. There was a good crowd of the pack out today already, probably because of the sunshine, even though the wind was still icy. That kind of weather just didn't bother the wolves because of the elevated body temps.

Many eyes turned to them as he hastily moved toward the medical cabin. He didn't meet any of them. He was too ashamed and knew they'd be able to read something in his eyes. Of course, if Ness spoke about what happened, he'd be held under penalty of death by his own laws. But of course, he couldn't dispute the accusations. Not that he would anyway. He'd committed a horrific act against a woman, his own wife. Though he couldn't remember the act, the wolf was a part of him and therefore under his responsibility. He'd lost control and would pay the price.

He looked down at Nessie's pale face buried in the blanket. He was willing to die to avenge the grievance and pain he'd caused her. He may have been a cold-hearted bastard, but there had never been any bone in his body that had ever wanted to hurt a female besides Gemma, and none since. In fact, after his mother died when he was young, he'd felt the need to protect his older sisters. A protective instinct of all women had stemmed from that. He'd always hated reading about those men who abused their women or raped them.

He really had become a monster. And not because he'd killed Gemma. But because he'd let the bitch control him from the grave.

"My lord?" one of the nurses asked when he managed to get through the door.

"Doc? Where's the doc?"

"Right behind you," the doctor's deep voice said.

Jacob spun around. "Private room."

Doc's eyebrows went up when he saw that it was Ness in Jacob's arms, but he nodded. He led Jacob down a back hallway and into a spacious room with an actual twin-sized bed. Jacob tenderly laid her down.

"Do you want me to leave?"

He ignored the Doc's surprised look, concentrating on his mate. She averted her gaze and nodded. "Yes, please."

"Do you want me to get anyone? Sadie, Carina?"

After thinking about it, she shook her head. "No."

He looked up at the doctor, giving him a stern gaze. "Take care of her," he ordered as he walked out the door.

The man nodded. "Yes, my lord." And then closed the door.

Taking a deep breath, Jacob leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and sank to the floor. Resting his elbows on his knees, he put his head in his hands. Out of respect for Ness, he didn't eavesdrop even though he really wanted to.

Sitting there, wondering how badly he'd hurt her, he despised himself. He should have never taken a mate, should have vetoed the pack's vote. He was the king after all. Taking a mate had been stupid, especially given his past with females.

Sometime later, a nurse walked past him, going into the room. He stopped her. "I want an update."

She nodded once before going into the room. It didn't take long for her to come back. Only this time, she looked pissed. She wouldn't even look at him when she spoke.

The line of her jaw was hard and tight. "There's a considerable amount of bruising. But what concerns Doc is the tearing inside. It's…extensive."

Jacob closed his eyes, swallowing back bile again. He couldn't even muster the kingliness of being mad at her anger toward him. He deserved it. "Will she heal?"

"Physically, yes. She won't be able to lie with you for some time, though." The last was said through clenched teeth.

Shaking his head, he stood up. "I won't ever ask her to."

The nurse eyed him. For the life of him, he couldn't remember her name. "Mentally, well, that's a different doctor, I'm afraid."

He winced and the guilt washed over him and consumed him. He couldn't keep this from the pack. They'd want to know what happened, and he couldn't lie to them. "Give her whatever she needs. I'm going to go address the pack."

As he turned away, she touched his arm. "My lord, it could be a death sentence."

In a move so uncharacteristic for him, he gripped her hand and squeezed reassuringly. "I know. But even a king should be held responsible for his crimes."

Fear touched her eyes, replacing the anger. "But my lord, you're the best king this pack has ever had. Adair is wonderful, but he's not you. She even said that it wasn't you, that it was the wolf. You're willing to die for a woman you barely know?"

He bared his teeth at her. "You were just angry with me two seconds ago. Besides, it's not just about Ness. It's the fact that I did something inexcusable. Being king shouldn't exempt me from the consequences."

She fired right back. "You are no longer human. You're the king. You can tell the pack that she was hurt another way."

"Lie to them? I'm not Ryker. I killed him mainly for what he was doing to the females here. I can't not be held responsible for the same crime."

"It's not the same crime if you didn't know what was happening."

Shaking his head, he extracted himself from her. "It's my decision and I'm going to admit it."

Taking a deep breath, he stalked down the hall and out of the building. The news had spread that Ness had been rushed to the cabin because a huge gathering of wolves was standing in the main square. Even Odette was there, though she was leaning against a building inspecting her nails. So many faces, most of them female, stared up at him expectantly.

Adair pushed through the crowd, his phone to his ear and looking worried. "Yeah, I'm here." He hung up and rushed up to Jacob. In a lowered voice he hissed, "What are you doing? What happened?"

"Didn't Molly tell you?" He suddenly remembered the nurse's name and knowing she'd been the one he'd just been on the phone with.

"She said something about an accident involving Ren."

"It wasn't an accident. Now, get out of my way."

"Jacob," he pressed.

Jacob glared at him. "Are you disobeying a direct order?"

The other wolf realized his mistake and lowered his direct gaze. "My king, I deeply apologize for my forwardness, but I beg you to talk to me before announcing anything to the pack. Molly seemed panicked."

This time Jacob growled and snapped his teeth. "I said move!"

Bowing low, Adair backed up, leaving Jacob to stare out over the crowd. Sometimes he wished he were a man of little morals. But his father and sisters had raised him better than that. Molly had been right in saying that he wasn't human. Not anymore. But that didn't mean that his past humanity didn't influence him.

"I'm sure all of you are here because you heard something was wrong with our queen since I brought her here this morning," he said in a booming voice as he looked around. "It's true. She's been hurt badly. And it was my fault."

A murmur swept through the pack as they whispered to each other. A lot of expressions turned suspicious, others surprised.

Theresa stepped forward. "My lord, if I may ask…"

She left the question open.

This was it, his confession. "I assaulted her."

A collective gasp rose up.

But the guilt forced him to finish the statement. "Sexually."

There was silence. And then a roar of angry outbursts. Scents of anger, disappointment, and fear filled the clearing. Odette was frowning hard against the wall, her mind obviously racing.

Adair grabbed his arm and twisted him around, looking up at him with eyes that demanded Jacob take it back, to say he was just kidding. Jacob looked away first.

Adair's grip tightened. "Jacob," he hissed. "What did you do?"

"I just told you."

There were several shouts, especially from Ryker's female victims.

"Death sentence!" "Our king should be punished!"

There were several murmurs of agreement.

Panicked, Adair stepped in front of Jacob, hands out. "Now just wait a second-,"

Jacob looked out at the back and raised his hands. Eventually, the pack settled enough. "I am prepared to accept the punishment for my actions, and I will leave it to you and Adair to come to a conclusion."

Adair's eyes widened over his shoulder. "Jacob-,"

"You will not."

Both Jacob and Adair spun around to see Ness being led out of the building with Molly the nurse as her crutch. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue scrubs.

She kicked her chin up. "I have as much say in this as the pack does. I am, after all, the one who was assaulted."

Ness's gaze was hard on his. And then looked over at the female helping her. Patting her hand, she smiled. "Thank you, Molly. I'll take it from here."

The female didn't like being dismissed, staying near the door just in case.

The pack murmured as Ness shuffled up between Jacob and Adair. She kept Jacob's gaze the whole way until she was standing at the top of the steps. Then she looked out at the crowd.

"Your…_Our _king didn't do this to me. The wolf inside of him did."

"I'm responsible-,"

She pegged him with a hard stare. "Don't. Don't you dare. Those eyes I stared into last night _weren't yours._" She looked back to the pack. "I don't know much about the wolves that you hold inside you except sometimes they can take over your consciousness so that you have black-outs. That's what happened last night. Jacob, in his human mind, would _never _hurt me. He was angry, something from his past surfacing. My guess is that the wolf took over, protecting him."

Again, murmurs whispered through the pack, many of them sharing confused looks and looking up at him.

Ness looked between him and the pack. "They don't know, do they? You never told them." She looked back to the gathered pack members. "This bad thing happened to me, to both of us last night. And I understand why."

Jacob hurriedly reached for her arm. "Ness, don't-,"

She spun around, her hair flying out around her. Glaring at him, she said, "They deserve to know. They won't understand otherwise. And I am not going to let you die for something that happened out of your control." Her eyes were hard as green ice. "So either you tell them or I'll tell them what I know. Take your pick."

Anger at her disobedience wanted him to order her to keep quiet. But then the guilt reared up, reminding him of why they were there to begin with. And what little she'd heard was enough to hold the pack over. They didn't need the details. And he figured she was right. Flashing back to one of their earlier conversations when she'd first arrived, he remembered her question about self-hatred.

Keeping his mouth closed, he moved back, letting her face the pack. "Apparently, when our king was first infected, the female who did it offered him false love and safety. Instead, she betrayed him. She offered him up as a sacrifice to a king who would have sadistically tortured and killed him. Jacob described the man as a serial killer. And you know what Jacob did?" She paused for emphasis, making sure to look at each section of the crowd. "He killed them both for what they did to him."

The entire clearing was eerily quiet, the only sound the bonfire in the center. Every eye was on Ness. The light of the fire reached out through the shadows of the sudden clouds, sparking the copper in her hair and the bright green of her eyes.

"You're wondering what that has to do with what happened between me and Jacob last night. I'll tell you. My mother angered him, forcing the confession of what happened from him. No doubt, he's kept that secret since it happened. The memory of it was so traumatic, the wolf protected him. Unfortunately, by the reaction of what happened last night, Gemma was the only other female romantic prospect besides me. The wolf was so emotional that it couldn't distinguish between me and his memories of Gemma. The aggression wasn't toward me. I don't blame Jacob. It's true that I don't understand yet the ways of the wolf, but I know that Jacob is a good man. And I forgive him for this. You should, too. I'm sure he'll do whatever it takes to make it up to me and to you."

More and more members of the pack had shown up, listening to their queen address them. Even the elders had come out. Carina, Rajani, and Idalina had come to the front, standing at the bottom of the steps. They studied Ness in a way that the rest of the pack didn't. They were measuring her strength, just like Jacob was.

Looking over her shoulder, she reached her marked hand out to Jacob. "Won't you? You'll make it up to us, right?"

It was then that he realized how amazing she really was. How the hell could he keep up with not caring for her? He hadn't expected for their lives to become so completely intertwined but somehow they had in just a couple short weeks.

And she was giving him a way out.

If he accepted her hand, the pack would forgive him. They wouldn't forget, but they'd forgive him because it would be an admission that her story about him was true.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and took her hand. He looked out at the pack and had another realization. They meant everything to him. They were his family. For years, he'd only gone through the motions of being king because that was his title. But standing there at their mercy, he wanted to prove to them he wasn't the man they thought he was for hurting Ness. He actually cared what they thought about him.

Gripping his hand, she looked to the pack. "Well? What do you say?"

They stayed silent, looking at each other and back up to them. Some of them, shaking their heads in disgust, walked away. Though it hurt, he couldn't blame them. But the majority stayed…and bowed.

While Jacob choked back emotion, he saw the three elder females share a smile, like they'd known all along how tough the woman he'd chosen was.

Beside him, Ness slumped a little, putting weight on his arm.

He looked down at her worriedly. "Are you alright? Scratch that, stupid question. What do you need?"

She offered a tiny smile. "Take me home?"

"Absolutely. Do you want to walk?"

She shook her head, leaning even more heavily against him. He transferred her hand to his other one and wrapped his free arm around her waist. Looking out at the pack, he said, "I swear to you that I will do better by you and our queen."

With that, he swooped her up in his arms, cradling her gently. He moved through the pack. Usually, they put their hands on him, but this time, their comforting touch was for the female in his arms. She smiled the best she could at them, letting them know she was grateful.

Jacob could sense Cris and Adair nearby, following them.

By the time he made it back to the cabin, Adair had gone ahead of them and was standing on the porch holding the door open. The look he gave Jacob was furious and understanding at the same time. He'd been around when Jacob had first arrived in the pack Gemma had taken him to and remembered the black-outs. Hell, he'd even helped restrain Jacob in the midst of a few of them.

Jacob nodded to him and went inside. "Do you want Cris inside?" he asked Ness, thinking that she might feel safer that way.

"No, but you can put me down now."

He did, gently as Adair closed the door behind them. When she was on her feet, he ran a hand through his hair. "Ness, I really-,"

_Crack._

Faster than he thought she was, she'd turned and slapped her hand across his face. She'd hit him hard enough that his head snapped back.

"Don't you _ever _pull that kind of stunt again," she said glaring at him.

He rubbed his jaw. "Ness, I'm so sorry. I should be better at controlling the wolf."

"That is not what I was talking about."

Jacob frowned, totally lost. "Then what-,"

She pointed a finger up at him. "You're the one who brought me here, mated me, and introduced me to the pack. And then you want to just leave me here alone by putting the blame for this on yourself? How dare you?" She slapped him again.

This time, he was ready for it and took the hit.

"How fucking dare you? You're the one solid foundation I have here. If you die on me because of your stupidity, I'll be completely lost as to what to do."

Completely nonplussed, all he could do was stare down at her. _That's _what she was mad about? "Adair could-,"

"Fuck Adair! I don't _want _Adair. You're my husband. You're the man who took my body as his own, and I will be damned if I let another man touch me. The next time you want to pull something stupid like that, you'd better talk to me first. Do you understand me?"

He just stared at her in awe. This tiny female was ordering him around like he wasn't a six-and-half-foot tall werewolf who had over a hundred pounds on her. She was a wife who was very angry with her husband.

But she wasn't happy with his silence. She punched his chest. "I said, are we clear?"

He knew he should say that he could do whatever he damn well pleased, that he didn't need to go around getting her approval. He liked her ferocity and wanted to see her fight with him.

But another thought crossed his mind. Didn't she think differently of him now that she knew what he'd done to Gemma?

He frowned. "I don't understand."

In exasperation, she threw her hands up. "Do I really need to spell it out?"

"That's not what I mean."

She crossed her arms. "Then what don't you understand?"

He studied her, watching for a reaction. "Why aren't you terrified of me after finding out what I did to her?"

She processed the question, a small frown appearing between her brows. Her breathing calmed, the scent of her anger dissipating. "Was it true?"

"That I killed her? Yes."

Her hair moved over her shoulders as she shook her head. "Not that. The story about what she did? Did she really turn you over to her king as a sacrifice, for his pleasure?"

Clenching his jaw, he nodded. "Yes."

"Tell me the story. With the details. And I'll answer your question."

"Ness-,"

She held a hand up. "Jacob, I think it's safe to say that this relationship is progressing in a way that neither of us expected. I want complete honesty from you, alright? I already know the story of you and Adair killing Ryker and his son. It was gory and very detailed. Rajani took great pleasure in trying to both gross and freak me out. But you know what? I get it. The wolves have very different cultures and lives from humans." Eyes softening, she stepped closer to him, putting her palm over his heart. "Tell me what she did to you. Please. That way I can understand you better. I've been nothing but honest with you. I didn't think I'd tell you that I wasn't actually willing, but I did. But you hide from me. Have I not proven how resilient I am? I'm standing alone with the body that raped me last night, and all I want to know is what this Gemma did to you so that I can hate her, too."

Sighing, he was tired of being an asshole. It wasn't who he'd been. And she had proven her resilience. She was standing before him, not even close to freaking out.

He held out his hand to her.

Slowly, she put her hand in his and he led her to the couch. But he couldn't just sit there through telling this so he went to the fireplace and started on a fire so she didn't get cold.

"Okay, so I told you about me and your mom." Over his shoulder, she saw him nod. "Well, not long after Bella and I lost touch because of your dad, I met Gemma. She was new around here and in a lot of ways, she reminded me of Bella. But I could tell there was something different about her. This was before werewolves came out of the closet."

He grabbed some wood and started stacking it in the grate. "We got really close, and she told me what she was, showed me. At the time, I was angry over Bella. Nobody could really talk to me except Gemma. She offered me the life she had, that we could run away together."

As he talked, he finally let himself remember her in detail. At the time, she'd been the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Bella had been pretty but not beautiful. He'd loved her for other reasons. But Gemma had been more than pretty with her green eyes and strawberry hair.

"You said yes," Ness whispered.

Jacob nodded. "I did. She raked her claws down my back during sex, sinking the infection as deep inside me as she could without killing me. Once she was sure my body had accepted it, we ran away. I never looked back. It took a while to get back to her pack, and during that time I could swear I'd fallen in love with her. When we got there, she introduced me to the king. Adair was there as well. I was there for a good couple weeks, sleeping with Gemma, in love with her. Adair and I became close since he taught me about the wolf inside me."

He paused again, the events of that night a recurring nightmare that he hadn't had since Ness had moved in.

"Jake?" she asked. He'd never liked being called that after his infection. It reminded him too much of his family. But it sounded nice coming from her.

Shaking himself, he reached for the matches, lit one, and threw it on the wood. Flames whooshed to life, throwing heat on his face and chest.

"And then they came for me. Gemma helped them hold me down to tie me up. When I begged her to help me or tell me what was happening, her eyes were cold and uncaring. The enforcers dragged me to the king's tent." He swallowed hard. "There were chains everywhere. All silver. As well as the weapons and tools. But there was also blood on the canvas, like art work. There were three other wolves tied up. The king was a beady-eyed little…" He took a deep breath. "Anyway, he was spoiled. Always got what he wanted. I was at his mercy for three days. The longest three days of my life. And I had to watch as he tortured and killed the others, laughing while he literally bathed in their blood. Eventually, Adair saved me on the fourth day. He managed to get into the tent while the king was away and unchained me. I'd been left alone long enough to recoup so that by the time we snuck to the throne in the center of the tents, I was ready to kill. Adair and I both went to town on him before I saw Gemma running for the woods. She knew she'd be next. And she was. I ran off after her, followed her through the woods. I cornered her against a wall of rock."

This was the part that made him think himself a monster.

He stared into the fire, remembering her screams as tears skipped down his cheeks. This was first chip in his humanity.

"She begged me to spare her, to forgive her. I didn't. Instead, I ripped her apart. Her blood painted the rocks behind where she'd stood. Strips of her skin hung from my claws. Pieces of her were everywhere. It was literally a bloodbath. It was even dripping into my eyes."

He'd zoned out so bad that he jumped when he realized Ness had moved off the couch to kneel in front of him. She was wiping his cheeks with her thumbs. He also hadn't noticed that he'd fallen back, sitting on his ass.

"What happened next?" she whispered, her own eyes sparkling.

"Adair found me, and we ran. Neither of us had particularly liked that pack so we left them to duke it out for the next king. But I had to get her blood off me. He dunked me into a nearby pond. I was in shock so he had to do most of the cleaning. And then we just kept running. Came back to the States. Adair knew Zeke so we settled here. A few years went by and I trained up. I was training to be an enforcer, but then I noticed what Ryker was doing. He'd been careful at first, but then rumors started. Adair and I looked into it. We didn't like what we found. Usually, to rise in a pack, you have to fight up the chain of command, but as enforcers, we didn't have to. We challenged Ryker and his kid. Surprisingly, we both won. I was twenty-six. And then a couple years ago, I brought the pack back here when the pack wars started, determined not to get involved. This pack had had enough damage. No sense putting them through a war they wouldn't win."

"And you built the wall," she filled in. "Protecting all of us."

Jacob nodded. "This is my home. I was a fool to leave the way and when I did."

Ness moved to kneel between his legs, surprising him. She rubbed her hands over his knees. "If this is your home, then why won't you go see your family?"

Now he growled, gaining back some of that anger. "They don't need to know what I've done. Just because you somehow accept it doesn't mean they will. My dad and sisters won't understand."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Because they don't understand war and survival. Not like I do."

"You don't know that. Jerry said your sisters moved back to care for your father. What if they saw something that made them come home? Jacob, you won't know until you try."

Clenching his jaw, he glared at her. "No, Ness. I'd rather sit here and believe they're better off without me than knowing it for a fact. Drop it."

"Jacob-,"

"I said, drop it," he snapped. "Look, I'm willing to be nice to you and cater to you right now because I hurt you, I _raped _you and you just saved my ass. But the guilt will only get you so far. My family is off the table. Give it up and let it go."

Instantly, her expression closed down, going cold, unreadable. Awkwardly, she used his legs to help her stand up. "Fine. Find whatever you can for lunch. I'm going to go take a bath. You're not invited."

Angry, he watched as she slowly made her way up the stairs, wincing every now and then before gritting her teeth. It was maybe ten more minutes before he heard the water in the tub running.

Scrubbing his face, he stared into the fire. Okay, so maybe he was starting to care about her. And she'd just saved his life. But there were some things he wasn't willing to go near. His dad and sisters were three of them. They deserved better than him, so he stayed away. The pack deserved better, too, but he couldn't just up and leave. Well, he could, but it was a bad idea, especially if Adair couldn't hold them. He couldn't risk another wolf like Ryker becoming king.

Caring about her was inevitable. And she obviously cared for him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have defended him, and damn sure wouldn't have gotten upset the way she had when they'd come back to the cabin. So maybe it was possible. He just didn't know how to have a relationship. He imagined that he could be romantic. He could somehow see himself doting on Ness and even their kids. The last time he'd imagined something like that he'd lost his virginity to Gemma.

Groaning, he fell back onto the floor and stared at the ceiling.

**RPOV**

Ren sank back into the tub, groaning as her body cracked and shifted. The water was nice and hot. And she had her lavender and eucalyptus bath salts floating around. At first it hurt to sit on the hard tub, her hips complaining. But once the water and salts did their thing, she sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

Honestly, she just couldn't understand why Jacob couldn't just go see his family. Or hell, call them. A simple phone call would no doubt be a very good step. But no. He had to be difficult. And they said women were hard to understand?

Sure, she could see his reasoning, but it was clear he couldn't see hers. He had no idea what his family had been through before he'd come back and built the wall.

Frowning, the feeling that she wasn't alone came over her. She cracked her eyelids to find Jacob towering over her.

"I thought I said you weren't invited?"

He pointed at himself. "King, remember?"

Lifting a hand out of the water she pointed at her own chest. "Raped, remember?"

He flinched but knelt down next to the tub anyway, washcloth in hand.

She nodded toward the door. "What happened to the couch?"

Jacob glanced over his shoulder. "I may have lost my cool when I figured out what I'd done." Reaching over, he soaked the cloth. "You never answered my question," he said in a low voice.

Going back through the conversation they just had, she stared at his hands as they twisted the towel. "You asked why I'm not scared of you now that I know?"

Silently, he nodded.

"How could I be? If I'd had your power and strength, I'd have killed the bitch, too."

He jerked in surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"Adair said the same thing. Well," he amended, "that he'd have killed her, too, for what she did."

Ren shrugged. "Honestly, she was as bad as the king for supplying him warm bodies to torture. They both deserved it." She put a wet hand to his cheek. "I don't think you understand, Jacob. I've read a lot about the wolves, so I have some idea of what goes on. Your instincts are primal. Compared to you guys, humans have been domesticized. And to be honest, I think you've made the best out of your circumstances."

Looking away from her, he nodded and dipped the cloth back in the water only to bring it up and squeeze the warm water over her neck and shoulders. "Why aren't you afraid of me now? After what happened last night, you should be terrified that I'll lose control again and snap."

"Answer me this, was I right? Am I the only other romantic prospect you've had since Gemma?"

It took a moment of her staring hard at him before he nodded.

"That's why you didn't want to take a mate, isn't it?"

"For the most part."

Straightening her shoulders, she shoved the fear she knew she should be feeling away. "Then no, I'm not scared of you or your wolf."

"What?" He stared at her. "Why?"

Frowning, she said, "You act as if you want me to be scared. But I'm not. Since you told me what happened, I don't think it'll happen again. If I were a therapist, I'd say it happened last night because you repressed the memories and once the wolf grabbed onto them after my mother prodded at you, he couldn't stop seeing her and hating her. He was an animal crazed with revenge. But now, I know what happened. You've let it out, no longer a secret to the woman who spends a lot of time with you."

He nodded absently. "I guess that makes sense." And then his head snapped to the side as if he were listening. Frowning, he folded the washcloth over the edge of the tub and stood up. "Someone's at the door. I'll be right back."

As he left, she sank into the tub, mulling everything over. Had all this been the reason for him being an asshole when she first arrived? Gemma had screwed him over so badly. Maybe that ruined all women for him. Or maybe he knew his wolf might be unstable. It would explain a lot.

Jacob was back a few minutes later. "Jeremy's here to talk to you about a computer. I can send him away if you want."

Well, the man was here. Why be rude?

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Just help me up. Please."

Gripping her hands, he helped her stand up. As he reached out for a towel, his arm slipped around her waist. She had to take a deep breath. Being naked around him made her uncomfortable right now. So maybe a part of her was still scared of him, but only because she remembered how helpless she'd felt as his big body had held her down. He stiffened as if he could scent her nervousness.

Moving away from her, he wrapped a towel around her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "Like I said, I may be an asshole, but I swear to you that I will never hurt you again. If you never want to lay with me again, I'll understand."

Holding onto his arm, she carefully stepped out of the tub. "Well we can't have that. The pack wanted you to have a mate so they could see you with an heir. We mustn't disappoint them."

"Ness-,"

"No," she said sternly. "Just give me some time. The flight or fight response is still strong. I think sleeping next to you will help. Let me heal and be around you, and then things can go back to normal between us." She stared up at him and didn't like how torn he looked. "You know, I think I like you being a bastard and ordering me around. This emotional side is wearing me out."

He chuckled. "Fine, if it makes you feel better…go downstairs and talk to Jeremy. I'm gonna take a shower. Oh," he said while moving around her, "and make some food while you're at it. I'm starving."

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down so she could kiss him. "Jerk."

He grinned. "You asked for it."

Shaking her head, she left him to his shower and went to get dressed. Her hips didn't ache as bad now because of the bath so she was able to slip into some cotton panties and a pair of jeans. Once she was dressed, she made her way down the stairs.

Thankfully, she recognized the male sitting at her table. For a tech geek, he was surprisingly attractive. Tall and muscular with short brown hair and pretty blue eyes. He was also one of the single males Jacob had growled at for kissing her hand too long.

As soon as he saw her, he stood up and bowed. "Your grace."

"Jeremy, right?"

"Yes, your grace."

Sighing, she gritted her teeth. She hated it when they were formal. She motioned for him to sit down. "Ren, please."

He waited for her to sit before he followed. Uneasily, he looked toward the stairs and the second level. "Are you sure it's alright?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay." He opened up his laptop. "Well, Ren…" he frowned. "That doesn't feel right. Are you sure it's okay?"

Laughing, she nodded, but didn't touch him just in case Jacob came down and saw it. Jeremy didn't look that much older than her, maybe in his mid-twenties. Wouldn't do for Jacob to get jealous.

"Look, you and I around the same age. Just treat me like a normal female. Now, what do you need from me?"

He opened up a new Word document and labeled it "Queen's Preferences". "Okay, well, just tell me what you plan to do with the computer."

They spent the next twenty minutes going over everything. She didn't know much about computers so he asked her questions. During that time, she'd gotten up to start on some food. She was in the mood for French toast, so she decided on breakfast for lunch.

"Do you want any?" she asked Jeremy. "There's enough."

Packing up, he shook his head. "No, thank you. I should get started on your laptop."

She frowned, piling food on a plate as Jacob came downstairs, dragging a towel over his hair. "Well, you don't have to rush. I'll be fine using Jacob's for a while."

He bowed. "Of course, your grace." Then he bowed to Jacob. "My king." And then he was gone.

Shaking her head, Ren put food on another plate for her and sprinkled powdered sugar over all of it. "I swear…are they always going to be like that around me?"

Chuckling, Jacob sat at the bar. "Honestly? Probably. When it comes to formal respect and adoration, the queens are usually the ones honored with it. Especially if they deserve it."

She looked up at him. "Was that a compliment that didn't pertain to my ass?"

Grabbing his plate, he shrugged. "Maybe, but don't look too closely into it. It's just obvious that that's how they see you."

She couldn't tell if he was joking or truly back to being the asshole.

But then, he said, "You know, I still can't believe that you're okay, not freaking out."

In all honesty, she actually was. But not thinking about it helped.

"I never said I was okay," she admitted. Instead of eating, she leaned her upper body on her hands on the counter. "Honestly, I'm freaking out. I'm in a very new world that I don't completely understand. I was forced into a mating, had my hand burned, and then forced into having sex for the first time. And then, after I get used to sex, I get sexually assaulted by the man who dragged me into all of this. And for some reason, I protect him." The whole time, she didn't meet his eyes.

Peripherally, she saw him lower his fork. "Forced into sex?" he demanded, voice low. "If I recall, you wanted it as much as I did the night of the ceremony."

"Okay, so maybe 'forced' is a strong word. I'm attracted to you and I agreed to the mating. I'm sorry for making it sound otherwise. But I'm so…lost, Jacob." Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she looked up at him. Her eyes teared up. "I'm trying to do the best I can, to be honest with you. But you are determined to push me away. As soon as we start getting along and I think I can actually talk to you about important things, you shut me down. Like today. When you picked me, it wasn't because I was decorative. It was because you saw something in me, a strength that not even I knew I had. And during those times that we actually get along, I think to myself that I could learn to love you. That's when something happens and you lose your temper, acting like the monster you think you are."

Picking up her plate, she moved to leave the kitchen but stopped beside him.

"I'll tell you right now that I'm done with that shit. Either you start treating me like I'm your wife and a grown woman, or I'll give you the cold shoulder like you do with me. I have done my best to be open, honest, and submissive to you without giving up who I am. But I'm done. I'm putting my foot down now. Figure your shit out, or I will find a way to leave you alone like you wanted in the beginning. And I highly doubt that that's what you want, especially since you actually told me what happened. Someone who wants other people to leave them alone don't share things like that. I am your wife, your mate. We're supposed to be partners." Taking a deep breath to calm down a little, she cupped his cheek. "I _want _to help you." She put the plate down to hold up her burned hand. "I take this very seriously. So that means that you're my king just as much as you are the pack's. I will never push you away, but you have to let me in, to trust me. I'm not Gemma. I don't betray people who confide in me or who need my help."

With that, Ren grabbed her plate and made her way upstairs where she shut herself in her room and turned the music up so loud that the windows rattled.

* * *

**So, am I the only one who thought Ren was a beast? Man, she tore into him. I loved it. So yeah, you know the drill. I love your review; they help me know how I'm doing. But please nothing derogatory or mean. That's just not necessary. Love y'all! xoxoxoxoxo**


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